CHINA — On a cold, rainy day last October, Nichole Jordan jumped into the pond, where she hosts Women Veteran’s Glamping, after she was dared by a woman on the trip. Jordan, cold and soaking wet, raised $160 in donations by jumping to demonstrate the lengths she will go to benefit her nonprofit and female veterans.

Her group, Women Veteran’s Glamping, was started in 2019, right before the coronavirus pandemic and right after Jordan was diagnosed with lung cancer. A veteran herself, Jordan founded the group as a way to gather female veterans from Maine and across the country and provide a safe space for them to connect through glamping.

In order to make the weekend trips possible, a large amount of fundraising has to be done.

On Saturday, the nonprofit hosted a cornhole game as a part of China Ice Days, which spanned across the weekend and offered a range of different activities such as sledding, snowshoeing on the trails by China Primary School and, to finish off the weekend, an ice fishing derby on China Lake.

Saturday’s cornhole game started off quiet at The China Four Seasons Clubhouse, but soon families dressed in snow gear and families who were ice fishing at the lake joined in.

To raise money for Women Veteran’s Glamping, Jordan and volunteers from her group sold chili, lasagna and cookies.

Helping set up the games was Deb Lyons, an Air Force veteran and glamping alumna, as they call it. Lyons joined Facebook a couple of years ago to get more involved and find connections with other female veterans in the state and came across Jordan’s event.

Lyons was in one of the first groups of women to go on the glamping trip at Maine Forest Yurts in Durham. At the time, the Navy veteran said she only knew one other woman in the state who served.

“I went on the first group and made some friends and stayed connected with them,” Lyons said. “It was cheery, and it’s a different environment with veterans than with civilians — they (veterans) just get it in different ways. We understand each other and know what it’s like to go on deployment and tour around.”

Jordan, who is an Army veteran, created the group for that very reason — to get women together.

She said often times, female veterans feel “invisible” in comparison to the males who served. When asking for donations, most groups she spoke with said they already donated to the male veteran groups. Donations are used to buy sleeping bags and other materials needed for the trips and can sponsor some women to ensure no one is turned away.

“I saw the need for women veterans to gather and have the camaraderie for the sisters that served and being able to get them back together,” Jordan said. “Women veterans are still mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, we are board members, we run the house, we’re school teachers — everything under the sun. … It’s hard for us to go do things. We do the best we can.”

Nichole Jordan, founder of Women Veteran’s Glamping, points out pictures from one of the group’s events. The nonprofit was sponsoring a corn hole tournament Saturday in China to raise funds. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The first glamping trip of the year is March 25, and there are 156 slots, Jordan said. So far, 100 women from around the country have signed up, though most are from Maine. The women stay in yurts which have bunk beds, a miniature kitchen and outside amenities.

During the weekend trips glampers can hike, kayak, swim, and create arts and crafts. At least four women are given a Quilt of Valor, which signifies a “Welcome Home” love and dedication to those that served.

Most women who attend end up forming lasting connections and plan to go on other trips throughout the year, according to the organizer.

In Maine, there are more than 100,000 male veterans according to the latest statistics from the Maine Department of Veteran Affairs. The current, exact number of female veterans in Maine has not been publicly reported by the department, but based on reporting from 2019, the number hovers around 10,000 women.

However, Jordan said, from her experience volunteering at Houlton American Legion, at the District 16th Commander of Southern Aroostook County for American Legion, and as commander of Post 202 in Topsham, she predicts the number to be closer to 26,000 women.

China Ice Days is set to continue Sunday with an ice fishing derby on China Lake starting at 5 a.m.

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