The Compass
Camptown Updates
Camptown Awarded Lowe’s Community Impact Grant
For the past several months, we’ve been quietly working behind the scenes on a major milestone that’s sure to transform Camptown for years to come. Today, we’re excited to finally announce it: Thanks to an incredible partnership with Lowe’s, Camptown has been awarded...
Welcome to Base Camp!
For more than 35 years, Camptown has called a lot of places home. When we take a minute to stop and reflect, we find ourselves amazed at just how far we’ve come: from our beginnings in Tom Lehman’s garage, to our multiple homes across Indianapolis, and now, finally,...
Lessons from Our Youth Leaders
This past March, Camptown hosted its 4th annual Trivia Night and it did not disappoint! On top of a fun evening of questions, dancing, and rock-paper-scissors tournaments, our event raised $24,500 for Camptown’s Youth Leaders! In this blog, we’ll tell two stories...
Oh, the Places We’ve Been…
For over three decades, Camptown has adventured wherever we were welcomed. For a while, it was working out of our founder’s garage, washing sleeping bags at home to use on the Appalachian Trail. Then, we found ourselves in borrowed classrooms, prepping for visits to...
2025 Camptown Changemakers
2025 has been a major year for Camptown, and none of it would have been possible with our incredible community! Throughout the year, dedicated champions have helped us expand our reach and deepen our impact on every child we serve. To celebrate this year of change...
Hope on the Trails (Cam’s Story)
As the giving season arrives and we reflect on what Camptown has accomplished because of your support, our hearts are full. Over the past few years, our reach has grown and we’ve served several thousand more kids than ever before. Our programs’ availability has...
Meet our CORE: The Noels
For Julie Noel, Camptown offers exactly what students need: a safe place to gain new experiences and learn how different the world can be. As she says, “you don’t know what you don’t know." A Bloomington native, Julie got her start in youth programming as a...
Saying Goodbye to The CRUX
After 12 years of vertical adventures, first climbs, and memorable moments, Camptown’s indoor climbing gym, The CRUX, is coming down. We're serving more youth than ever before with more staff and volunteers than ever before, and have simply outgrown our space. While...
The View From Here: 6 Kids’ Camp Stories
Since our humble beginnings over 30 years ago, Camptown has served over 60,000 children from Central Indiana — challenging, mentoring, and teaching them about life through outdoor adventure and nature programs. At this year’s annual dinner, “Glamp-Out: The View from...
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