“I used to be difficult, and now I’m a leader.”
These words were uttered by a teenager who joined Camptown several summers in a row for wilderness adventures with Hamilton County Youth Assistance Programs. His words speak of significant life changes, made possible through intentional, purposeful adventures.
Thoughtful transformation. That was our theme for 2022 at Camptown, and by God’s grace that is what happened, both in individual kids’ lives, and in our scrappy yet ambitious organization. All in all we helped over 4,350 kids, more than ever before, and spent more time with them, allowing us to go deeper. The year began with the launch of the new REACH for Nature after-school program, which allowed us to add talented new staff including former participants like Lesly, who was featured in prime time news. We resumed full strength with our Wilderness Adventure Academies (including partners of 15+ years), and ventured to two National Parks and included adventures near and far.
As I reflect on 2022, I’m most pleased with how our growing staff focused on loving individual kids well. Maggie bonded with twin girls through creek stomps. Collin mentored Jalen through Hoosier National Forest rains. Sara connected with Jose through cave crawling. I invested in Jermaine through Smoky Mountain trekking. Trey inspired curiosity stumbling upon raccoons at the forest edge.
As high school student Ramari shared in her own words, Camptown helps her, “Feel different. It brings like, you know, more happiness to me. And, you learn things that you never knew.” Thank you for joining in on our adventures at Camptown.
Brent Freeman
President & Executive Director
Check out our 2022 Annual Report!