Camptown

Leading Youth to a Better Path

  • Home
  • About Us
    • History & Awards
    • Staff Biographies
    • Board of Directors
    • Contact Us
    • Executive Transition
    • Annual Report
  • Programs
    • Youth Programs
    • School Programs
    • Camptown Forms
    • Make a Payment
  • CRUX
    • Youth Rental
    • Team Building
    • Contact Us
  • Volunteer
  • Ways to Support
    • Trivia Night with Camptown
    • 20th Annual Tom Lehman Memorial Golf Tournament
    • 2023 Dinner & Silent Auction: Camptown’s Great Glamp-Out
    • Camptown Core
    • Custom Giving
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Planned Giving

Same Mission, Fresh Look

August 5, 2022 by Morgan Ellis

We did a thing! As you may have noticed on our recent posts, we have an exciting announcement: we refreshed our logo!

Since 1991 Camptown’s core purpose has been clear: to positively impact youth through outdoor adventures. More than 30 years later, Camptown remains focused on what we do best: providing life impacting outdoor experiences for youth, but with a larger reach in a new era. Our staff is growing, the number of students we are serving is increasing, we have added new partners, and we are evolving to meet the unique new challenges that our young people are facing today and will face tomorrow.

While our core purpose remains unchanged, we are breathing new life into our adventures by refreshing curriculum, our logo, and welcoming new partnerships for Camptown. We are eager to see what the future holds and we invite you to come along with us in this next chapter. Thank you to our board committee that is making this refresh a reality – we are blessed to have your talent and support!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

REACH for Nature

December 20, 2021 by Morgan Ellis

We have been a little busy at Camptown lately, and we’re eager to update you! By May, we had already served over 1000 youth in 2022 including 8 Wilderness Adventure Clubs, 3 backpacking expeditions to Tennessee with over 60 teens, our Youth Leaders program and much more. We have also been working diligently to transform some opportunities into reality, and we want to update you on a new program we launched at the beginning of the year. So get ready, because we’ve got a story for you! 

At Indianapolis Metropolitan High School (Indy Met), located in the near-Westside Haughville neighborhood, Camptown’s new REACH for Nature Club has grown quite the dedicated following of students. Not only are they developing key outdoor skills, but also charting new and exciting paths for their futures. The curriculum for high school students focuses on character development, relationship building, and career readiness through nature and outdoor activities. In fact, several of our high school students volunteered weekly to facilitate games with younger students at Camptown’s elementary program sites. The high schoolers also have their own field trips. One Saturday in the spring, they visited Earlham College, including their outdoor education department. One Camptown participant fell in love with the campus. She subsequently submitted her application to Earlham, and is considering a minor in outdoor education. With new doors open, students’ worlds can become much bigger. This summer, two students from Indy Met have been hired as Camptown facilitators for our REACH Summer Camp, getting the opportunity to mentor youth and flex their leadership skills. 

Since REACH for Nature’s January launch at 4 schools, Camptown has been able to interact with 145 new youth and has offered 121 days of programming to high need schools in Indianapolis. Our staff team expanded from a powerhouse group of 6 to a well-rounded, dedicated group of over 15 including several new part time positions. We have laughed, learned, and grown together and continue to adapt to best serve the needs of our students. However, above all else, we have seen the need for this program first hand from our students and teachers.

Post COVID lockdown, students were and still are, struggling academically, socially, and mentally with the weight of the world. Camptown, through REACH for Nature, has alleviated some of that stress and provided students access to nature’s classroom for solace and exploration. The curriculum includes environmental education blended with activities to build social skills and emotional awareness. Students are getting to try new things, build new friendships, and get outside of their neighborhoods or city, and sometimes for the first time. We have trekked trails through rain and snow, held geckos and inspected crickets, and learned from guest speakers who donated their time and talent to sharing their knowledge with our students’ young minds. 

If you’re interested in more background, let’s flashback to October. Camptown and 29 other youth serving organizations were selected to receive ESSER lll grant funding from the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) to support equitable access to after school programs for Indiana youth. The R.E.A.C.H Grant (Reimagining Enrichment, Academics, and Community Health) seeks to provide economically disadvantaged youth with opportunities for academic achievement, character enrichment, and other activities designed to complement regular academic programs and emotional development. 

When we first considered the grant criteria, we realized Camptown programs are deeply aligned with the goals, but in a rather unique way. After discussing our vision with our contacts at the IDOE, we saw this as an opportunity to expand our REACH and open new doors for Camptown to serve even more students. When we finally submitted our application, we were optimistic about our chances, but knew there would be many applicants in the wake of the pandemic. When Brent shared the news in a staff meeting that we were selected, everyone was overjoyed to embark on this new adventure offering for Camptown. 

After much preparation, Camptown was able to launch the REACH for Nature After School Program in January at four school sites: Indianapolis Metropolitan (Indy Met) High School, Christian Park Elementary, Thomas Gregg Neighborhood School, and Francis Parker Montessori. Since launch, Camptown staff have been working diligently to design curriculum, build relationships with students and school staff, and onboard new teammates to support this exciting adventure. 

In the spring semester, students met at their schools for a couple hours once or twice a week after school with an adventure trip once a month. We are offering 6 weeks of day camp at 3 different sites this summer with 2 adventure trips per week. In the fall, sites will be expanded to 3-4 days a week at each of the schools where they may learn about animals and habitats or practice communication skills through fun games.

We are excited to see the ongoing growth of the students who participate, as we continue REACH Summer Camp that started June 6th, alongside all of Camptown’s other summer adventure programs. We are grateful for the support of our Camptown community as we take on this exciting new opportunity, and we are energized by its ability to grow our programmatic reach in Central Indiana. We look forward to sharing many more stories with you soon!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Play Time

December 20, 2021 by Morgan Ellis

Stories from Trey Clayton (Program Director)

Two teachers and two Camptown staff found themselves oddly alone around the campfire after breakfast during an overnight trip with 6 boys from the Sheridan Youth Assistance Program. All having the same thought at the same time; missing kids are a bad sign and shenanigans were afoot. As they quickly scanned the area and noticed some kids were running, while the others were hiding behind trees or egging on the chase. One of the Sheridan teachers was the first to realize what was happening. “They’re playing.” He said as if it were a surprising realization. The students with all their diversity and differences, were playing a game of tag with everyone participating.

During post-breakfast (and tag) debrief, the teachers each touched on some of their observations about the trip. The teacher who had noted the students playing pointed that very thing out to them. What he had seen and summarized was simple: in lieu of playing on their phones or being distracted by everything else going on at home or school, the boys had come together and found something to do and done so cooperatively. The students had turned to play, and thus progressed to a bit of a new social awareness and ability to make something out of boredom. The benefit of the “wilderness” was that they adapted and made fun where others might see none!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Camptown

Mission Statement

Camptown's mission is to challenge, mentor, and teach youth about life through outdoor adventure and nature programs that help build confidence, character, and hope.

Connect

Contact Us
Meet the Staff
Newsletter
Volunteer

Resources

Careers
Links
Gear Rental

Training

Leave No Trace Trainer
River Canoeing
Beginning Backpacking
Teambuilding
7998 GEORGETOWN ROAD, SUITE 700, INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46268 · PHONE: (317) 471-8277 · COPYRIGHT © 2017 CAMPTOWN INC