Camp Joy Foundation
10117 Old 3-C Highway, P.O. Box 417
Clarksville, OH 45113
Camp Joy Program for Underserved Youth
Grant Application:
Support from the Dater Foundation will help ensure that at-risk youth, many of whom have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, can reconnect with one another and be restored by these upcoming programs. Camp Joy will deliver camp, outdoor education, and leadership programs for at-risk youth. Funds will help to cover the costs of overnight accommodations, food, transportation, and program delivery for youth who otherwise would not be able to afford these experiences. Camp Joy will be taking extra precautions to ensure that participants and staff are safe while on-site with masks, sanitizer, social distancing, and other measures recommended by health professionals.
GOALS/OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM
there has been a significant need in the Greater Cincinnati region to provide economically and physically/medically challenged children with the opportunity to participate in outdoor activities with positive role models. That need is even greater now because of the trauma caused by COVID. Children who are coping with poverty and those with medical/special needs face academic or learning challenges and often struggle socially, and the pandemic has exacerbated these challenges. They are at higher risk for poor self-image and lacking self-esteem.
We are seeking to build on the wonderful support that the Dater Foundation has generously provided since 1993 to help more children from the Greater Cincinnati area who are facing economic and medical hardship. By bringing children with similar challenges together, the programs create moments of joy amidst their hardships and offer respite in a safe, nurturing natural environment. The children tap into their own resilience and strength to make themselves whole and the world a better place. The goal is to provide opportunities for these vulnerable kids to become inspired to believe in themselves, reconnect with others, and help them heal.
While each program is customized, helping each child to realize their full potential and grow as an individual is the ultimate goal and is the anticipated result for every program. The program seeks to narrow the opportunity gap in outdoor educational programming for youth that exists due to economic or medical reasons. Points of emphasis include:
· Develop greater self-esteem, problem-solving skills, leadership skills
· Gain positive adult role models who can serve as mentors
· Build social/emotional/behavioral competencies that they can use to help with positive decision-making both in school and in later life.
Grant Evaluation Report:
The 2022 programming for underserved youth was a huge success! We saw thousands of youth come through the gates with a range of emotions and leave with huge smiles on their faces, hoping to come again next year. We heard over and over again how much this vital work is making a difference in young people’s lives.
Teachers expressed how inadequate they would feel in meeting some of the academic guidelines presented by the Ohio Department of Education if they didn’t have Camp Joy’s highly trained educators as a resource to teach subjects like entomology, forest ecology, garbology/conservation, herpetology, ornithology, wetland ecology, comparative ecology, mammalogy, rocks, and minerals, etc.
We used scholarships and philanthropic support from the Dater Foundation and other private foundations to provide camp experiences for 888 underserved youth and outdoor school program experiences for over 1,300 students. Thank you for enabling us to continue this life-changing work!
FEEDBACK
The founder/director of a local partnering agency serving inner-city teens through mentoring and basketball shared the following after taking a group to Camp Joy in 2022.
“It was awesome. It was incredible. We administered a pre-survey, and all 11 kids said they did not want to come. They were resistant to the idea of leadership training, but they came. The Camp Joy staff were just excellent. The camp worked for everything we wanted to accomplish with building leadership, leadership training, and addressing communication issues. All our outcomes were met!
Our post-survey after camp demonstrated the youth learned the value of team building and communication, and the youth provided feedback that they had had a tremendous time! The youth who came last year were excited to come again in 2023. The youth who went to Camp Joy have spread the word about their experience, and now other kids are asking to come to Camp Joy. It's been a rejuvenation of sorts for the inner-city youth.”
A teen from the above-mentioned cohort, whom we will call DeAndre to protect his privacy, initially displayed no interest in attending or participating in Camp Joy. However, a remarkable change occurred when he conquered the Pamper Pole, a 22-foot pole with a platform on top (while being safely belayed). Upon reaching the ground, Michael shouted, "I'm free!" This powerful moment marked a turning point for him.
After returning home, DeAndre's basketball coach noticed a significant change in his demeanor, and he began to embrace his role as a leader. His mother has attributed the positive changes to the leadership skills-building experiences he had at camp. DeAndre's triumphant moment epitomizes the transformative power of Camp Joy's programs, instilling newfound confidence and leadership abilities in participants. Camp Joy is not just a camp. It’s a place where lives are changed. And when lives are changed, families and whole communities are changed.
In 2022 we saw tremendous success, but there were challenges as well.
Paraphrasing our summer social worker, “Kids are coming in malnourished. They have a harder time connecting in person. They missed a whole year of social-emotional development where they didn’t get to work on problem-solving and figuring things out. A lot of their basic needs aren’t being met day to day. We get to give them a safe space to work on conflict resolution, problem-solving, and helping them learn to manage conflict altogether.”
We are not the answer to every problem, but time and again, Camp Joy's teams and programs have been able to be the catalyst for positivity in the lives of our campers. We firmly believe in the transformative power of our programs, and we have witnessed firsthand the positive outcomes they can bring. Through our dedicated teams and engaging activities, we strive to create an environment where campers can learn, grow, and thrive. While we understand that we cannot solve every challenge, we are committed to making a meaningful difference and providing memorable experiences that leave a lasting impact on the lives of those we serve.
Website:
http://www.camp-joy.org Amount: $30,000
Date: June 2022
