Spring 2024 Newsletter

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SPRING 2024 HIGHLIGHTS: Find Your Camp Lessons Learned Celebrating! And more! Taking Campers to the NEXT LEVEL!

Each year, we ask ourselves how can we make our campers’ experience even more impactful? With a proven record of transforming the world for 185,000 children and adults with challenging illnesses or special needs, we are always striving to take everything to the next level. This includes our facilities, programming, food services and more.

The latest updates to our facility include remodeling the main bathrooms in the Dining Hall. Not only are they fresh and bright, but we have added more privacy to the stalls. In addition, we are upgrading and updating the AV system in the Dining and Gathering Halls to be more user friendly and impactful.

The remodeling of the cabin bathrooms has begun, starting with Cabin 18. Besides new tile and hardware, we are adding water bottle fillers to eliminate the water jugs, insuring better hydration for our campers. Also, a changing table will be installed in each cabin for campers of all ages. It will take a couple of years to remodel 17 more cabins because campers coming to Camp come first, so bear with us!

Have you ever heard of a Combi oven? It is a big upgrade to our Food Services. Steaming, grilling, deep frying, smoking, baking…it does it all and more and it does it extremely well. In addition to increased efficiency, automatic cleaning and safety, this cutting edge oven also allows us to address cross contamination for our barrierfree diets.

Program improvements include repairing the high ropes course that was damaged by last year’s tornado and introducing new elements that will offer fresh challenges for campers. Also, providing a second boom at the climbing tower will give us two zip lines with hydraulic lifts instead of one.

Some upgrades you won’t see are the automated HVAC Controls for the Main Building. This enables staff to change and monitor temperatures more efficiently providing more comfort for our campers. And we were proud to include closed captioning at the gala in January.

As we continue to serve more and more children and adults with challenging illnesses or special needs, we could not continue to take the Camp For All experience to the next level without you, our wonderful and generous donors! Thank you!

With your help, they discover life.

2 | CAMP FOR ALL | SPRING 2024
PAT PRIOR SORRELLS
Moody Foundation – Dining Hall Bathrooms and HVAC Medallion Foundation – Cabin 18 Bathrooms Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church – A/V in Dining Hall and Combi Oven

MISSION

Camp For All transforms the world for children and adults with challenging illnesses or special needs.

From The Chair

Camp For All was the dream of our founders Paul Gerson, Bob Zeller and Larry Neuhaus. They saw the real need for children and adults with challenging illnesses or special needs to be able to go to camp and experience the joy that campers feel in a safe and inclusive environment.

Before Camp For All was designed, they met with the architect and the 16 potential “Partners” and asked them for guidance as to the needs of these potential campers, so that Camp For All could provide a life changing experience. They asked the Partners to dream, and dream BIG. The result was a unique camp that is barrier-free in programming, facilities, language and food service. And, it didn’t stop there!

Since 1998, Camp For All continues to strive for new and better ways to deliver the Mission. Through the years, we have developed exciting Strategic Plans with Big Hairy Audacious Goals. We have continued to dream, and dream BIG. Our Strategic initiatives are updated annually, we have turned our goals into reality.

The current Strategic Plan addresses two challenges: How do we address the growing need for our services; and how do we continue to take Camp For All to the next level for those we serve? We are not there, yet, but the Big Hairy Audacious Goal is in the midst of an exciting evolution of turning those BIG dreams into BIG realities!

A heartfelt THANK YOU to the Camp For All Donors, Board of Directors, Chairs Council, Advisory Board, Camp Friends, Emerging Leaders, volunteers and Staff for working toward making our latest dreams come true.

SPRING 2024 | CAMP FOR ALL | 3

Find your Camp!

SPRING/SUMMER 2024

May 27-31 Sunrise

Children with social and learning differences Briarwood Tuttle School

Jun 9-14 Spike N’ Wave Children with epilepsy Epilepsy Foundation of Texas Houston/Dallas/Fort Worth

Jun 9-14 Camp Oasis

Jun 16-21 Star Trails

Children with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation

Children with cancer and blood disorders MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Center

Jun 17-21 Camp For All 2U Texas Children’s Hospital – West Campus

Jun 23-28 Rainbow Connection

Jun 23-28 Camp Dreamcatcher

Children and teens with cancer Childhood Cancer Connection

Children with cancer McLane Children’s Hospital, Baylor Scott & White

Jun 24-28 Camp For All 2U Texas Children’s Hospital - Medical Center

Jun 30-Jul 5 Camp Smiles Children with cerebral palsy Easter Seals of Greater Houston

Jun 30-Jul 5 Bayou Bruisers Children and teens with bleeding disorders Louisiana Hemophilia Foundation

Jul 7-12 Camp PHEver Children and teens with phenylketonuria UT Health Houston

Jul 7-12 Camp Social

Jul 8-12

Children and teens with social and learning differences The Carruth Center at the Parish School

Camp For All 2U Texas Children’s Hospital – The Woodlands

Jul 14-19 Moran Camp XTreme

Jul 14-19 Camp Hope

Jul 21-27 Camp Periwinkle

Jul 28-Aug 2 Shining Stars

Jul 28-Aug 2 Cell-A-Bration

Aug 4-9

Discovery

Aug 4-9 MDA

Aug 5-8

Aug 12-16

Impact

DeafBlind Camp of Texas

Children and young adults participating TIRR Foundation in wheelchair sports

Children and teens with HIV and AIDS Allies in Hope

Children with cancer and blood disorders and their siblings The Periwinkle Foundation

Children and teens with kidney disease Kidney Kamp Foundation

Children with sickle cell disease Sickle Cell Foundation of Austin Marc Thomas Foundation

Children with skin disorders American Academy of Dermatology

Children with muscular dystrophy Muscular Dystrophy Association

Children of parents who serve in the military Travis Manion Foundation and Impact Hero

Adults who are DeafBlind DeafBlind Community of Texas

4 | CAMP FOR ALL | SPRING 2024
refer
1 Visit www.campforall.org 2 Click the “Find Your Camp” button in the navigation bar 3 Select the category or categories that apply to you or your loved one 4 Contact the organization directly to sign up!
*Please
to www.campforall.org for schedule updates.
THE QUICKEST WAY TO FIND YOUR CAMP, JUST SCAN!

SERJIO — I was a camper at Camp For All more than a decade ago. I built my confidence there by participating in outdoor activities and challenges, pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. I learned to overcome obstacles, embraced new experiences, and believed in my abilities by meeting other campers with similar challenges. Today, I use my confidence to take on new challenges, pursue my goals with determination, and encourage others to believe in themselves. Camp instilled a sense of resilience, self-assurance, and a positive mindset that continues to shape my success and growth.

ALLEN — Camp For All has taught me it doesn’t matter where we are in life or what paths we’ve walked; at our core, we all seek a connection with others. We possess the power to influence the lives of those around us by fostering an environment of acceptance and belonging. Camp has left an enduring mark on my life, accepting me in my youth and shaping me into a leader through its transformative experiences. Today, it continues to guide me, reminding me of the profound impact of acceptance, leadership, and resilience in shaping both my personal journey and the communities I serve.

McBride, Camp Director at Camp For All

KELSEY — My Camp For All experience helped to lead me toward my career as a physical therapist. Since volunteering at Camp Smiles as a teenager, my involvement with Camp has only grown. I continue to volunteer with Camp Smiles and I am the camp director for Camp Love Without Limits (for children with orthopedic and neurological diagnosis). My experiences at Camp continue to guide the care of my patients as I look to maximize their opportunities to discover life. – Kelsey Ziegler, Physical Therapist at Shriners Children’s Texas

TIM — Camp For All taught me invaluable lessons in teamwork, adaptability, and empathy. Camp welcomes campers and staff from all walks of life. As staff, it was always important to make sure everyone is included no matter how you needed to adjust the game or activity and working with a diverse staff was so important to have different perspectives in those situations. These lessons from Camp have become a core part of my personal and professional life that help me day to day. This influence extends to my personal values, community involvement, and my approach to leadership in my career because of all that Camp provides to not only campers, but the staff, too. – Tim Kelly, Sr. Product Manager at Autodesk

LARRY — Reflecting on my Camp For All experiences, I recognize their profound impact on my personal and professional growth. The moments shared, the lessons assimilated, and the bonds forged have etched an indelible mark on my life.– Larry Geiger, Program Director, The Periwinkle Foundation

MANDY — Camp For All will forever be present in my life. My best friends, I met at Camp. My husband, I met at Camp. The type of person it requires to do this type of hard work and heart work – that is who I want to be and who I want closest to me. I found this at Camp and it set a bar for the relationships in my life - people that see life through a lens of possibility. Camp For All did not and cannot remove adversity, trauma, illness or struggle from anyone – but it certainly has the ability to allow all of us to see these things in a completely different way. Camp connected me with the very best part of myself and it connected me to the very best people in the world. I’m forever grateful for that little slice of heaven on Rehburg Road.

Peoples Benedix, Mentor Specialist at Pearland ISD

SPRING 2024 | CAMP FOR ALL | 5

The Greatest Night on Earth!

DATE: Saturday, January 27, 2024

CO-CHAIRS: Yésely Love, Stephanie Magers, Caroline Walter FUNDS RAISED: More than $1,000,000

On January 27, Camp For All hosted its sold-out “Under The Big Top Gala” at The Revaire, which welcomed nearly 600 guests. The gala raised more than $1 million which will continue to support our mission of transforming the world for children and adults with challenging illnesses or special needs through barrier-free experiences.

The evening honored Ginger Bertrand, her late mother Sybil Roos, and their families for their longtime support and dedication to Camp For All. Co-chairs Yésely Love, Stephanie Magers and Caroline Walter excitedly welcomed guests for a wonderful evening that featured inspiring personal stories from past and current Camp For All campers, a silent auction, wine pull and a fabulous live auction boasting once-in-a-lifetime experiences, including a luxurious vacation retreat to Aspen, a four-night stay at the exquisite Sedona Piñon Woods, and an extraordinary opportunity to tour contemporary artist Hunt Slonem’s studio in Manhattan. Slonem is known for his bunny paintings, one of which was part of the auction.

Throughout the evening, Master of Ceremonies Ilona Carson kept the energy level of the crowd high. In a moving moment during the gala, Kristen Moreno, the mother of longtime camper Claire Moreno, shared touching memories of her daughter’s six years as a Shriner’s Hospital camper at Camp For All. Claire is non-verbal and lives with cerebral palsy as a result of having been born premature.

“Camp For All provides so much more than a week of summer fun for its campers. It provided Claire the opportunity to be out from my watchful eye. To prove to both of us that we can survive without being tethered to each other,” said Kristen. “Claire always came home a little more mature, more verbal, and more outgoing. There is not a year that goes by now without Claire asking when and where she’s going to camp thanks to those first successful summers at Camp For All.”

Funds raised during the gala go toward helping Camp For All welcome the nearly 9,000 campers that visit its 206-acre campsite each year. Working in partnership with more than 65 other nonprofit organizations, Camp For All enriches the lives of children and adults with challenging illnesses or special needs and their families. Over the past 30 years, the organization has empowered more than 185,000 campers, helping them realize their challenges do not define them.

6 | CAMP FOR ALL | SPRING 2024

DATE: Saturday, April 20, 2024

LOCATION: The Woodlands Tower 9950 Woodloch Forest Drive, The Woodlands, Texas 77380

Join us to rappel off of The Woodlands Tower at the Waterway, a 31-story office building and raise money for children and adults with challenging illnesses or special needs to attend Camp For All! Sign up to rappel today and start your fundraising or make a donation by scanning the QR code above.

CAMP FOR ALL NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT TO SERVE OUR CAMPERS.

Every gift makes a huge impact on the lives of children and adults with special needs or challenging illnesses and their families. We are honored by the generosity of the compassionate and dedicated family of donors who make Camp For All possible with their kind support.

MAKE A GIFT

To give a gift by credit card, visit www.campforall.org/ donate. You can also send a check to:

Camp For All

3701 Kirby Drive, #570 Houston, Texas 77098

SPECIAL TRIBUTE

If you would like to make a gift in honor or in memory of a friend or loved one, please let us know who should be notified about this special tribute.

MONTHLY GIVING

Monthly donors are our “Energizers” each month! Visit www.campforall. org/donate to set up your monthly or quarterly gift of $10, $25 or $50. You can stop any time you need to.

MORE INFORMATION

MATCHING GIFTS

Many employers will match your contributions to Camp For All. If you need supporting documentation to complete the match, please contact Serjio Brereda at sbrereda@campforall.org.

LEGACY GIVING

Leave Your Legacy for Camp For All. Including Camp For All in your will can give the gift of joy, belonging and fun to thousands of campers, long after you are gone.

If you have already planned a gift or designated Camp For All as a beneficiary in a life insurance policy or retirement account such as a 401k, or if you would like to make a gift of stock or talk to someone about a gift, please contact Development Director Mary Beth Mosley at 346-440-3036 or mmosley@campforall.org.

SPRING 2024 | CAMP FOR ALL | 7
“I love coming to Camp because…”

CHAIR

Julie Taetz

Marion Anderson

Jim Avioli

Laurie Baker

Tom Behanick

Beth Clarke

Bob Davis

Marcella Foreman

Ashley Frysinger

Bob Funk

Philip Gallegos

Steve Gilbreath

Amanda Gyeszly

Sarah Hastings

Kim Hurst

Alex Jessett

Ally Kelly

Alexis Leiser

Michael Lewis

Liz Logan

Laurie Bruce Maddox

Steph Magers

Matt Mogas

Nick Ndah

Paul Palmer

Stacie Pitts

Joshua Samuels, M.D.

Lesley Schick

Susie Smith

Dena Wren-Mumford

EX OFFICIO

Samuel Edwards

Jenny Schaer

Pat Prior Sorrells

Paul

Laurence

Robert

“…it’s unique and people who have problems still have fun.”
“…I like to challenge myself on certain things and to do all of the activities.” –
and do fun things.”
are
3701 KIRBY DRIVE, SUITE 570 • HOUSTON, TEXAS 77098 6301 REHBURG ROAD • BURTON, TEXAS 77835 NON-PROFIT ORG. US. POSTAGE PAID HOUSTON, TEXAS PERMIT NO. 10064
Camp For All Board of
2024
Directors
EMERITUS
Gerson, M.D.
B. Neuhaus
Zeller, M.D.
AND CEO
Prior Sorrells GENERAL COUNSEL Gary W. Miller Follow us! Visit www.campforall.org or call 713.686.5666 for more information about donating, attending or volunteering! – FROM CHLOE, AGE 14
S.
PRESIDENT
Pat
GRACE, AGE 19
BAILEY, AGE 11
make
friends
PATRICK, AGE 12 “…the staff are kind,
activities
FUN!” RUBY, AGE 10
“…I can
new
the

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