WinShape

The WinShape Foundation is a major American charitable endeavor of the fast-food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A and its founder Truett Cathy and his family. WinShape also has a sister foundation that was started by Mr. Cathy's daughter Trudy and her husband John called Lifeshape.

Origins

The foundation started in 1984 as a small college scholarship program housed on the former Berry Academy campus of Berry College. Within several years, a boys' summer camp, followed by a girls' summer camp, were added. The foundation has continued to expand in its over 20 years of existence. It now includes foster homes, a challenge/ropes course, corporate and marriage retreats, and sponsors mission trips both within the United States and internationally.

WinShape College Program

The WinShape scholarship currently provides $8,000 yearly – funded jointly by WinShape and Berry College. These funds replace the first $8,000 of any academic scholarships offered by the college and require a special application and interview process. The program originated with only several dozen students and offered a total of $10,000 over four years. Today, WinShape currently has over 100 college students enrolled per year, with over 800 alumni in just over 20 years.

The requirements of the scholarship program have varied in details over the years. Eligibility originally required current Chick-fil-A employment, high achievement and community involvement in high school, and a willingness to sign a contract including Christian-based rules. Employment by Chick-fil-A is no longer a requirement, but the Christian-based nature of WinShape is perhaps stronger today than ever; the current contract specifies weekly meeting attendance, leadership discussion group participation, community service, and Christian lifestyle, including abstaining from alcohol and drugs. Beginning in 2006, freshmen and transfer students were required to attend a two and a half week-long orientation camp.

Mission Statement

WinShape College Program exists to cultivate college students who develop disciples, create community and launch leaders to impact every generation.

"Chicken People"

Due to the scholarship program being funded by Chick-fil-A, participants often have been called “chicken people” and all things related to “WinShapers” have been preceded by, or related to, “chicken,” including:

*The “chicken bus” – originally a small bus but now a van – shuttles members between the dorms and main campus.
*The “chicken corner” – originally a corner section of the student center lobby – has been a traditional lounge space for WinShape students. When the student center was renovated in the early 2000s, the student activity office counter was placed where the original chicken corner had been. Within days, a new section of furniture in the lobby had been claimed.
*The “chicken table” in the college’s dining hall existed for years before the major student center renovation occurred. Located between the entry/exit, dish conveyor belt, and food lines, it was a prominent area of the dining hall where only WinShape students and their friends tended to sit.
*“Chicken nuggets” or “processed chicken” are nicknames given to those who socialize with WinShape students.
*The “coop” was seldom used to refer to the dormitories.

WinShape Camps

Mr. Truett Cathy had taken his boys Dan and Bubba and his daughter Trudy to a summer camp called Ridgecrest in North Carolina when they were children. After the start of the college program in 1984, he wanted the campus to be used during the summer months. With the help of Mr. Rick Johnson who had worked for years at Camp Ridgecrest, they started a summer camp for boys in 1985 and a summer camp for girls in the Ford buildings on the main campus in the summer of 1987 [It's Easier to Succeed Than to Fail, by S. Truett Cathy. P. 176-177.] . The camp was structured similarly to the Ridgecrest camp--a sports camp with a Christian emphasis. With the use of an native American "Indian" theme, the age groups were divided into different "tribes". Another aspect of the program included "indian ranks" that campers could achieve based on good behavior and virtues, the apex of which allowed a camper to take a test to achieve the rank of "little chief" for boys or "indian maiden" for the girls.

Typically a summer at WinShape Camp for Boys or Girls consists of four 2-week sessions--campers typically stay for a two week session, although younger campers (2-3 grades) may stay for a one week session. Both camps also offer an adventure program for older campers. This program includes excursions to go backpacking, whitewater rafting, caving, rock climbing, and multiple nights camping.

The newest forms of camp for WinShape Camps include the introduction of a family camp in the autumn of 2006, and a traveling camp known as C3 (Camps Connecting Communities) that launched officially in the summer of 2008.

Boys Camp Tribes

*Mohawk (2-3 grades, one week only)
*Apache (2-4 grades)
*Shawnee (5-6 grades)
*Choctaw (7-8 grades)
*Navajo (9-12 grades)
*Sioux (10-12 grades, adventure program)

Girls Camp Tribes

*Calusa (2-3 grades, one week only)
*Chippewa (2-4 grades)
*Chickasaw (5-6 grades)
*Cheyenne (7-8 grades)
*Cherokee (9-12 grades)
*Creek (10-12 grades, adventure program)

WinShape Homes

Mr. S. Truett Cathy, out of a deep love of children, began a foster home in 1987 near the WinShape Centre on Berry College's campus. This home was designed for up to seventeen children and had full-time parents to take care of them. Out of this effort, several other foster homes have been birthed so that as of December 2007 there were 12 WinShape foster homes in the United States--eight in Georgia, one in Alabama, and two in Tennessee--as well as a few in Brazil. The homes cater to children who do not have behavioral problems, but have been the victims of tough circumstances.

WinShape Retreat and Marriage Retreat

Atop a hill behind the WinShape Centre on Berry College's Mountain campus lay a Dairy farm that Martha Berry had built to resemble Normandy architecture. The WinShape Centre acquired this dairy when Berry College was seeking to shut it down. After remodeling and adding two additional buildings to the complex (which ironically were part of the master plan from 75 years earlier, but had never been built), the whole complex was converted into a four-star retreat center for people seeking respite and a break from the care of the world. The center now accommodates over 8000 guests every year.

Mr. Truett Cathy's middle son, Mr. Don "Bubba" Cathy, and his wife Cindy, also head up efforts to minister to couples in strengthening their marriages. The retreat center offers several special events for couples--ranging from couples who have healthy marriages to couples who are actively considering divorce. The program seeks to promote healthy marriages and families.

WinShape Wilderness

Started in 1991 under the leadership of a WinShape College program student, Tammy Preston, WinShape Wilderness seeks to glorify God by creating adventure experiences that encourage spiritual transformation. By using field games and low and high-ropes elements, the WinShape Wilderness staff coordinates safe, yet challenging team-building experiences to help teams work through problems and experience a new level of community.

WinShape International

WinShape International is an organization that seeks to mobilize Chick-fil-A operators and other leaders in the Chick-fil-A community to build young people in other cultures around the world and equip them to become leaders. WinShape International uses Chick-fil-A's SERVE model of leadership as a platform to help train young people to become servant-focused leaders.

References

External links

* [http://www.winshape.org/ WinShape Foundation]
* [http://www.winshape.org/college WinShape College Program]
* [http://www.chick-fil-a.com/ Chick-fil-A Corporate Site]
* [http://www.berry.edu Berry College]