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While Camp Summit’s 18^th Annual Benefit Golf Tournament at Bear Creek Golf Course isn’t until April 23rd, Camp Summit staff and volunteers are already working hard on the event.

We are off to a great start with board member Jerilyn Huddleston chairing the committee. She has been involved in the Golf  Tournament for the last 11 years and we appreciate her leadership.  We also have an aggressive goal to raise $112,000 for the event.

We have a plan, we have a committee chair but, we need your help.

We need volunteers that are willing to help out in planning and executing the event. And you don’t even need to be a golfer!

Volunteers can serve on the committee in any of the following capacities  – for as little as 2 hours a week:

• Call already developed contacts at businesses to ask about sponsorships for the event
• Approach new businesses and contacts to ask about sponsorship for the event
• Call already developed contacts at businesses to ask for donations for the auction/raffle
• Approach new businesses and contacts to ask about donations for the auction/raffle
• Pick up auction/raffle items from local businesses
• Recruit players and teams to play in the golf tournament
• Organize auction items and event registration
• Help plan and decorate the event
• Help set up the facility before the event
• Help staff registration tables, sell raffle tickets, talk up the auction items, monitor Hole in One Contest, take photographs, etc. on April 23rd.
• Clean up the facility after the event on the evening of April 23rd
• AND MUCH MORE

Just think, a minimum of 2 hours a week and 1 committee meeting a month can help campers experience Camp Summit!

Contact me at b.snapp@campsummittx.org or 972-484-8900 x 107 for more details or to get started. Also, mark your calendars for the first committee meeting on Thursday January 26th at 5:30pm at La Madeleine (NE Corner of Preston and Forest).  You can still be involved in the committee even if you cannot attend this meeting.

Campfully yours,

Byron Snapp, Development Associate – Special Events

According to a poll of over 300,000 participants on GoalsGuy.com*, the top 10 resolutions for 2012 are:

1. Lose Weight and Get in Better Physical Shape
2. Stick to a Budget
3. Debt Reduction
4. Enjoy More Quality Time with Family & Friends
5. Find My Soul Mate
6. Quit Smoking
7. Find a Better Job
8. Learn Something New
9. Volunteer and Help Others
10. Get Organized

In doing research from different sources for this post, an interesting fact seems to be that these 10 resolutions have remained the same for the past several years – only the order of the resolutions has changed.

Though we can’t help all ten on this list, Camp Summit can help with #9 on this year’s list: volunteer and help others.

Volunteering
Last year over 30,000 hours were donated to Camp Summit from several hundred volunteers. From donating time in the office with mailings, helping with our annual golf tournament in the spring or dinner and auction in the fall, raking and painting at our annual work day (and even some impromptu work days), our weeklong camps in the spring, summer and fall or our weekend camps throughout the year.

The commitment of our volunteers saves money and allows monetary donations to go toward the campers of Camp Summit. More information can be found on our website and mark your calendars for Saturday, March 31 for Camp Summit Work Day.

Easy Ways to Donate
There are ways you can help others with very little effort at all. Our community support allows Camp Summit to ensure no camper will be turned away due to financial hardship as well as improve facilities to better serve camper needs.

You can participate in:

• Summit Showers by picking up items on our wish list while shopping at Walmart or Amazon.com.
• Shopping for groceries, register your Albertsons, Kroger and Tom Thumb cards with Camp Summit and a percentage of your everyday shopping comes back to Camp Summit.
• Using GoodSearch, a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up! Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter [Camp Summit] as the charity you want to support.

More information on all of these programs and more can be found here.

Financial gifts
Our cost for one week of camp is $1300.00 and over 90% of our campers utilize our sliding scale fees and/or campership programs to help pay for camp. Camp Summit is proud to be able to say that we have never turned away a camper due to financial hardships – and we intend to keep that tradition.  That is how your financial gifts can help and how you can help others in the process.

Credit card donations can be made directly online at our Network for Good site.

Donations can also be made by mail: Click here and print a donate by mail form

Gifts can be made:

• As campership donations to help campers who need assistance to attend camp; as gifts in memory of a friend or family member or in honor of a special person or special occasion. Camp Summit will send a special card notifying the family or honored person of your generosity;
• As monthly pledges by arranging to make a contribution to any fund through our monthly pledge program. Please contact the Dallas Office to make arrangements or complete a donate by mail form and specify monthly pledge;
• By planned giving that provide deferred tax advantages to both you and your heirs. Your generosity can continue to benefit Camp Summit beyond your lifetime;
• By utilizing an employer matching gift by checking with your HR Department to see if your place of employment offers a program that increases your donation using your work places “matching” program.

Don’t forget besides helping others contributions to Camp Summit, a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, are deductible for computing income and estate taxes.

Though Camp Summit may not be able to help you achieve your weight loss goals or introduce your soul mate (though who knows, both truly could be possible at Camp Summit!), there is no better way of marking off #9 on your 2012 Resolution List by volunteering and making donations to help the campers of Camp Summit.

Be sure to contact our office for any questions you may have by calling 972-484-8900 or emailing me at l.applegate@campsummittx.org – I’ll be sure to direct your questions to the appropriate people!

Happy 2012!

Liz Applegate, Marketing Manager
* Gary Ryan Blair is the inspiration behind New Year’s Resolution Week. This annual event was founded on the premise, that a single resolution can positively and profoundly create lasting change in your life and help to make the world a better place. To become part of the world’s largest personal change initiative, visit www.GoalsGuy.com.

With the addition of fall camping sessions, added staff and upgrades to the Camp Summit camp facility , it’s easy to look back over the last 12 months and reflect on what a remarkable year Camp Summit has had.

Spring Break

In March, Camp Summit hosted a Spring Break camping session. Eighty campers of all ages and disabilities participated in numerous barrier free, outdoor activities such as the adaptive ropes course, horseback riding, arts & crafts, sports & games, nature walks and ended the week with a dance.

Local college students participated in the Alternative Spring Break Program at the University of North Texas and spent their Spring Break as counselors for the wonderful campers of Camp Summit. Their time as volunteers had such an impact many of these students returned during the summer to become camp counselors.

Summer Camp

Our 2011 Summer Camping Season opened on May 22nd with our first week of summer camp for adults ages 30 and older with developmental/intellectual disabilities. A total of eleven weeks of summer camp provided camping for individuals grouped by age and/or disability.

One week of the summer, Camp Summit hosted a session for campers who are legally deaf, blind and have a minimum of one additional disability.

Even with the severity of their disabilities, campers participated in all of the camp activities that make Camp Summit so special. Because of the uniqueness of this week, many of the other activities were focused on taste and feel. Some of our campers tasted pineapple and papaya for the very first time or molded sand clay for their arts and crafts projects.

As with other weeklong camping sessions, this week ended with a dance with another adaption for the campers – the dance was held on the camp’s wooden deck, with the speakers facing downward to produce vibrations for the campers to “feel” the music.
Other camp activities for specific weeks include a reenactment and camper participation in the Wizard of Oz for the young campers and a chili cook-off for our young adult campers.

Fall Camp

Camp Summit was proud to announce its expanded fall camping season this past year. In September, nine weeklong sessions were offered for campers with physical and/or intellectual disabilities, ages 16 and older.
The popularity of the fall camp sessions was so widely accepted an additional week of camp was added for
November 30 – December 2.

One unexpected benefit to our fall camp session was having counselors from across the country with other camp experience including a married couple, Steve and Barbi Murphy.

“To have peace-of-mind knowing there is a place for [caregivers of children with disabilities] to take their loved one that will not only take care of them physically but also encourage them to step outside their comfort zone to experience new challenges in  a supportive environment. We get great satisfaction hearing the gratitude of parents and caregivers after spending a week with their campers,” shared Steve.

Weekends & Open House

Even with the expansion to weeklong fall camping, weekend sessions were still held throughout the year. Five weekend camping sessions were held in the spring and fall including a Family Weekend Camp in April.

Family Camp is a great way to introduce Camp Summit to families who are considering sending their campers to camp. The whole family participates in camp activities that allows campers to get acquainted and get excited about coming back to summer camp.

Open House was held on Sunday, May 1. Even with a quick change in the weather that brought about much needed rain, this past year was one of the highest attended – even bringing in families as far away as San Antonio.

This year will be one of many benchmarks for Camp Summit. But this hasn’t stopped the staff from dreaming and planning for 2012. A standard has been set but for the coming year this standard is just the starting point.

One of the exciting additions that will happen at Camp Summit in 2012 will be online registration for our summer and fall camps. Online registration for summer camps is scheduled to begin in February so be sure to watch for more information.

In the meantime, registration (the good old-fashioned-time-tested pen and paper way)  for our 2012 Spring Break camp and spring weekends will begin TODAY December 15th.

Spring Break Camp registration

Spring Weekend registration

Family Camp Registration

Don’t miss out as space fills up quickly!

We can’t wait to see our campers this spring!

It’s hard to believe that 2011 is coming to a close and we are already looking to the coming of a new year as well as a new schedule for camping sessions. In fact, as I writing this article, there are only 196 days until summer camp begins!

One of the major additions that will happen for 2012 will be online registration for our summer and fall camps. This will mean less paperwork and easier access of information for both our campers’ families and our office staff. Online registration is scheduled to begin in February so be sure to watch for more information coming soon. We will be sure to notify everyone when registration is available.

In the meantime, registration for our Spring Break camp and spring weekends will begin on December 15^th. Applications will be available to download from our website on that date or you can call the office at 972-484-8900 or e-mail camp@campsummittx.org and request one be sent to you.

With the start of our fall camping sessions this year, we are very excited about the success of this addition to our camping sessions. In 2012, we have once again included nine weeks of fall camp. These weeks are open for our campers ages 16 and older. These weeks are open to both physically and developmental/intellectual disabilities.

One thing is certain as move into a new year, our program wouldn’t be same without our supporters and campers. And we want to hear from you! With our new blog, newsletter and Facebook page, we are always looking for new stories to share. Please feel free to contact me at l.applegate@campsummittx.org or in the camp office if you have a story about Camp Summit you would like to share. Not writing experience is necessary! We want to reach more campers and their families with our wonderful camping programs.

This coming year will be Camp Summit’s 65^th  year of providing residential camping to persons with disabilities. That is something to be proud of – and 2012 is gearing up to be one of our best years yet.

2012 Spring Break Camp

2012 Summer Camps

2012 Fall Camps

2012 Weekend Camps

Fall camp sessions at Camp Summit have allowed new activities and opportunities for our campers. One such opportunity is the Leadership in Training camp session scheduled for November 13 – 17.

This week not only has fun camp activities such as horseback riding, ropes course, zipline and cookouts but also a week with specific skills aimed at applying for and retaining a job within the workplace.

The focus of this week will be on:

1. Independent living which includes nutrition, physical activity and money management.

2. Communication and self advocacy.

3. Pre-employment skills to work as a team and take a personal inventory for work styles.

4. And of course, camp wouldn’t be the same without recreation and fun added in including organized sports, cookouts, game night, geocaching and a dance on Thursday night.

The Leadership in Training curriculum was developed based on similar models used by local Texas school districts incorporating the natural setting of camp. With ongoing research that shows the benefits of connecting individuals back with a natural setting that camps offer, this can be beneficial for persons with disabilities says Camp Summit CEO, Carla Weiland.

“We are excited about this opportunity for our campers to learn and refine these vital skills needed as they enter the workforce,” commented Ms. Weiland.

Who would benefit from attending the Leadership in Training week?

1. Campers with disabilities currently or soon to be living independently.

2. Those who want to learn more about self advocacy.

3. Individuals who want to work on their pre-employment skills.

Registration is still taking place for the upcoming Leadership in Training camp sessions. Cost is decided on a sliding scale based on income and number in the household. Camp Summit provides a respite service for families that qualify for the CLASS program.

Camp Summit is the traditional camp for children and adults with disabilities. This year Camp Summit will benefit nearly 2,000 children and adults with developmental delays, physical or sensory impaired disabilities.  This year completes 64 years of remarkable camping at Camp Summit.  All sessions are filled with fun activities, accomplished goals, new experiences and lifelong friendships.

Registration applications can be found here.

If you are interested in finding our more information about Camp Summit please call 972-484-8900 visit our website at http://www.campsummittx.org or email camp@campsummittx.org for more information.

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The mission of Camp Summit is to provide barrier-free outdoor experiences that promote personal growth and foster independence for children and adults with disabilities. Campers may be physically challenged (Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, paralysis, etc.), developmentally delayed (Down syndrome, Autism, mental retardation, etc.) or have multiple disabilities ranging from mild to severe.  Camp Summit is a member of the American Camp Association and licensed as a Youth Camp in the State of Texas.

Cooler weather is being welcomed to North Texas – and yes, even a little rain! And though the fall weather is exciting what really excites us is the celebration of our 4th week of fall camp!

Don’t think that just because we are having fall camp it is the same as our summer sessions. A new theme and new activities have been enjoyed by both the campers and staff.

And what’s not to be enjoyed when you can “Be and All-Star at Camp Summit!” with fun activities such as leather working, Geo-caching, time with our mini-horses and even cowboy skills!

Campers have learned to stamp and work with leather often making bracelets or book marks – a fun reminder of their week with us at Camp Summit. And then its off to geo-caching – or as some of our campers call it, treasure hunting!  “Treasure” is hidden throughout the camp to be found with the help of counselors and handheld GPS devices.

Our mini-horses are often the delight of our campers and our fall sessions have included how to take care of them, what they eat and more interaction with them. Afterwards campers are taught roping and get to practice with a lasso.

Don’t forget, these activities are all in addition to our regular camp activities like our modified ropes course, zip line, recreation and sports, arts & crafts, nature studies and cookouts!

Fall camp has been a great addition to our camp schedule for our campers ages 16 and older. If your camper is interested in attending fall camp be sure to be put on our wait-list. We often get last minute cancellations and having  registration in will ensure you are called when there is space available.

Remaining weeklong camp schedule:

October 16-21: Mixed Disabilities (ages 16+)

October 23-28: Mixed Disabilities (ages 16+)

Oct 30-Nov 4: Mixed Disabilities (ages 16+)

November 6-11: Mixed Disabilities (ages 16+)

November 13-17: Leadership in Training (per-vocational & leadership skills)

Already filled out a registration packet for summer camp? Only pages 7 & 8 are needed to sign up for additional camp sessions. Download a registration form here.

And don’t forget about our fall weekend camps and respite day!

November 18 – 20: Young Teen Inclusion Weekend (ages 6-18)

December 2-4: Adult Developmentally Delayed Weekend (ages 19 +)

December 10: Respite Day (10a.m. – 5 p.m.)

The cost of weekend sessions is $250 and $30 for the Respite Day in December. Click here for a weekend registration forms. Space is limited so be sure to register today!

Registration forms for both weekend and weeklong sessions can be mailed to our Dallas office:

Camp Summit

17210 Campbell Road Suite, 180-W

Dallas, TX 75252

Or faxed to: 972-620-1945

Often making a donation to an organization is like putting money into a hole in the ground – you know it’s there but you are not quite sure why or what it’s doing.

As the program marketing manager, I get the joy of visiting camp every couple of weeks during the camping seasons. To me, it’s a necessary (and much-loved) trip so I can visit with the campers and counselors and bring their stories back to you as well as share what your financial support does for Camp Summit campers.

And believe me, the impact of your financial gifts goes beyond the donation dollar amount.

I’ve shared a little about DonorBridge Giving Day next Thursday, September 15. You can read about what it is and how to give your gifts on that day in an earlier post. But have you wondered what those gifts will help with?

To give just a glimpse, watch the below video and know that your gift of $25 or more on September 15 helps campers of all ages experience what you and I often take for granted.

~Liz Applegate, Program Marketing Manager

On Thursday, September 15, 2011 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Camp Summit is taking part in Get Up and Give! North Texas Giving Day.

And for Camp Summit and 750 other North Texas non-profit organizations this means it’s time to get the word out about this special day.

Last year on Giving Day, over 7,000 people gave to their favorite organizations raising over 5 million dollars. An amazing statement for the generous donors in North Texas. But what makes Giving Day so special are the “matching funds” that are donated through various foundations.  Every donation $25 and over will receive “matching funds” that are determined at the end of Giving Day when the total number of donations is counted and split between the participating non-profits.

This will be the third year that Camp Summit has participated in North Texas Giving Day and we are looking to have this year be our best yet. Last year with the help of 68 donors on Giving Day, Camp Summit raised over $17, 000.00. These gifts not only helped send campers with disabilities to camp but also enabled the development and funding of new programs such as the new weeklong fall camping sessions as well as the Leadership in Training in November. This weeklong camp will help to teach pre-vocational skills to help campers develop the ability to apply for and hold jobs – maybe even to become camp counselors and volunteers in the future. These programs would not have happened without your support.

Now, more than ever, Camp Summit needs your support. Camp Summit’s goal for DonorBridge Giving Day 2011 is $20,000.00.  We know that as a friend of Camp Summit you understand the value of camp and especially your financial gift.

So mark your calendars for Thursday, September 15 from 7a.m. – 7 p.m. and get up and give! Every gift goes further on Giving Day…don’t miss out!

UPDATE 09/13/2011: DonorBridge announced that matching funds are now over $1 million!