p Blue A Newsletter of Cam
Skies Foundation
Showing the positive impact your gifts make in the lives of adults with developmental disabilities.
SUMMER 2014
Camp: A favorite holiday year after year!
male counselors.” She adds, “It's probably refreshing to have someone new and different encouraging and instructing you!” To first-timers, Amy says, “Don’t worry. You can rest assured that your family member is being lovingly cared for by a group of professionals who will give the camper a week to remember.” For Russell, it's a highlight of his year and “he looks as forward to it as he did to Halloween and Christmas as a child.” That says a lot, since he was 49 when he first attended our camp more than two years ago!
Fun at camp! All our campers were first timers once. What is it like that first time, and what keeps them coming back? Amy Nason, sister of camper Russell Roby, helped answer those questions. Doing anything for the first time can bring about some anxiety, but Amy and Russie, as
! Great companionship she affectionately calls her brother, were both “very excited by the prospect of his having a fun week away.” Amy had some trepidation, but Russell fit right in. Amy says he especially likes the male companionship and mentorship. He enjoys time “cutting up and having fun with the fabulous
According to Amy, Russell’s “Top 3” favorite parts of camp are, “the counselors, the food, and just ‘being away’ in an emotionally, physically safe place to be - a real vacation!” We are glad Russell really looks forward to Camp Blue Skies and that his family feels secure in knowing he will be well cared for. We hope he continues to come to meet new friends and to enjoy cutting up with his cabin mates and counselors!
My Camp Blue Skies SEED20 Experience Message from Dick Sesler, Founder Thanks to a creative grant application written by Amy Millikan and Crystal Dempsey, Social Venture Partners Charlotte selected Camp Blue Skies to participate in its SEED20 social entrepreneur competition. The annual contest features 20 nonprofits vying for $45,000 in cash prizes. From the 20 selected, only half get a shot to go before six judges, who award prizes ranging from $5,000 to $20,000. The audience even gets a chance to weigh in with a People’s Choice award for $2,500. The centerpiece of the competition: tell your story in a three-minute speech to an
audience of more than 450 people—not an easy feat! The hard work paid off, though, and Camp Blue Skies made the Top 10. The big night came on March 11, and the air inside the auditorium at Bank of America’s Urban Garden crackled with the electricity of nervous energy and anticipation. I managed to give a good presentation and was thrilled to hear the audience’s response. Bottom line – we won both the People’s Choice award and third place from the judges, totaling $10,000. Community exposure...priceless!
CampBlueSkies.org
Camp Blue Skies was honored to participate in SEED20, a competition designed to discover, spotlight, support, and fund great ideas for building social value.
Engage, Encourage, Enjoy!