the circle up
“Sunburst”
I hope you are having a wonderful summer! We have been busy here and are excited to share with you in this issue what’s been going on at Life Adventure Center!
We could only work as hard in the summer with our dedicated seasonal staff members! These college students live on-site for the summer, bring incredible energy to our campus, and help us expand our offerings in terms of the number of people we can serve and the number of camps we can run concurrently.
You'll also see our waterfront, lovingly named Lake Lancaster after our long-term handyman, and how we're using grant money to make the area more fun this summer.
Ross and Cathie Brown, the founders of Life Adventure Camp, have visited the camp a few times this spring to meet with our staff and share more about their organization's history and original intent. We share more about those visits and that story here.
Finally, catch a re-cap of our fundraiser, The Extreme Adventure Challenge, and learn when to sign up to participate, volunteer, or sponsor this event for next year!
Before the summer season begins, LAC welcomes a new group of interns to our property each year. Having these extra hands is vital to having successful summer programs, but we also value the energy and enthusiasm of our newest team of interns.
Getting Ready for Summer Training Days
Interns are trained on everything from CPR and First Aid, safely facilitating archery, trauma-informed interactions and even a day of mock camp to put into practice all they’ve learned!
Staff Spotlight: Meet the Interns
Our seasonal staff help us double the number of people we’re able to serve in the summer - helping us add extra camps, to extra campers, to multiple camps on-site at the same time!
What are you most excited about this summer?
Josiah “Po”
Midway University
Sports Management
Getting the opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of so many young people and spending time with the amazing LAC community.
Berea College
Psychology and Studio Art
The opportunity to introduce new and exciting experiences to the participants here. Offering guidance when needed, and of course, building new connections with the campers and staff!
“Thoria” Alyzia
“Mushu”
University of Cincinnati
Sports Psychology
I‘m excited to use what I‘ve learned to help people through the mental aspect of performing physical activities, but I also about all the people I’m going to meet and cool things I will accomplish!
“Ladybug”
“Simba”
University of Tennessee
Psychology and Forestry
The opportunity to promote social cohesion and personal development through outdoor engagement.
Midway University
Equine Management and Psychology
I'm most excited to grow my knowledge of horses and share my passion for equine work with campers and participants.
Midway University
Equine Rehabilitation
I‘m excited to see campers grow over their time on property and develop lifelong friendships, and of course, work with the horses!
Special thanks to the Bluegrass Charity Foundation for their grant support, which has allowed us to expand our waterfront offerings! Our new equipment has made quite the splash this summer!
Last year we added beautiful wooden gazebos to our most shade-starved programming areas: the waterfront and the meditative labyrinth.
we love our new Lakefront Pavilion Labyrinth Pavilion with Earth Day volunteers! with LAC Participants!
Fall Adventure Camp
September 30th - October 10th
Ages 8 to 12
Fall Afterschool Adventure Club
Mondays, September 9th - October 21st
Ages 10 to 13
Environmental Action Civics Club
Tuesdays, September 10th - October 22nd
Ages 12 to 17
for more information, visit: lifeadventurecenter.org/camps
Buckley Wildlife Sanctuary Transition
Buckley Wildlife Sanctuary is a 374-acre sanctuary right here in Woodford County . Buckley has hosted families, school groups, and hikers for over fifty years and boasts an extensive trail system and bird blind.
The team at Life Adventure Center has been managingg Buckley since 2013, partnering with Canoe Kentucky and others to continue the mission of the Buckley family. Our programs and offerings at our main property continue to expand and highlight the need to focus our mission of using outdoor adventure to build resilience in people affected by trauma.
We have worked diligently over the last year with the Buckley trustees to transition management to another organization. We are thrilled that our friends at Bluegrass Green Source will now be managing this property!
We're excited about Buckley Wildlife Sanctuary's future and the more focused work we can do here at Life Adventure Center with this transition.
Impact in Action: Ross and Cathie Brown
Before there was Life Adventure Center, there was Life Adventure Camp. Life Adventure Camp was the brainchild of a small group of Central Kentuckians who wanted to connect kids in need with outdoor adventure. The camp began in the early 1970s and was completely volunteer-run. For over thirty years, it hosted weeklong camps and programs in Estill County, serving thousands of kids. Kids have always needed camp, and these kids more than most.
While the language may have been different, counselors and camp staff worked to build resilience in the youth they served, teaching them confidence, competence, and control. Two of the founders, Ross and Cathie Brown (pictured above), were the driving force behind the camp ’ s creation. It’s impossible to overstate their commitment and dedication to being the good they want to see in the world. Cathie recalls a time when she was delivering one of their sons at the University of Kentucky hospital and making calls from her hospital bed to ensure campers had what they needed to start camp. Prudently, she tried to avoid the long-distance charges she would incur back home in Estill County! When all was said and done, the Browns had four sons, and they shared that the camp became like a fifth son. They poured their love and time into it for years while managing their busy lives.
Life Adventure Camp merged with The Cleveland Home (our parent organization) in 2006, and Life Adventure Center was born. The work of the Brown family is still present all across our property, from the Life Adventure Camp sign hanging in the barn (seen here) to the Brown Family Pavilion, our outdoor pavilion that is the start and end of most camp days.
“Be the one...”
Ross and Cathie recently visited our staff, shared more about their story, and left us with these words - be the one. Be the one to step up. To do the next right thing and to hopefully make a difference. The Browns certainly have.
May 18th, 2024
18 checkpoints. 16 teams of four. 2 hours. 5 miles. Fun? Endless.
Our first annual Extreme Adventure Challenge is in the books! We raised over $10,000 for our Scholarship Fund, welcomed new and old friends to our property, and had a ton of fun!
Winners of the First Annual Extreme Adventure Challenge
The winners received a bourbon stave trophy and free entry into next year’s Challenge, taking place
May 17th, 2025
The Honey Badgers
We can’t wait to see them back, and to see more of you as well!
None of this work would have been possible without the work of our dedicated volunteers! Thanks to our families, friends, and new-to-LAC volunteers who showed up to staff headquarters, run checkpoints, work our water tables, and more. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Volunteer Raffle Winner Cornhusker Volunteers
Volunteers Rick and Lydia Patrick, Program Director Megan’s parents, came all the way from Nebraska!
Congratulations to Meg Helton, the volunteer who won a $100 gift card to J&H Outfitters!
Our Extreme Adventure Challenge Sponsors believed in us from the very beginning! Thank you all for your support!
Kentucky Gives Day 2024
Thanks to the generous support of our donors and friends, we raised
$8,705 for our scholarship fund!
Our scholarship fund allows us to fully fund camps for groups like Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass and Amachi of Central Kentucky and to scholarship at least 30% of all of our open enrollment camps and programs. thank you!
Spring Round Up!
