Donations

Dear Friends and Community Members,

In the Spring of 2008 the YMCA was notified that after 40 years of operation, Camp New Hope, a camp for children with special needs, was going to be closed due to their loss of transportation resources and administrative support. When the YMCA was approached by past Camp New Hope staff to take on this endearing mission the YMCA was more than determined to see to its success. Legally unable to use the previous camp name the children renamed their camp, Camp Bright Star.

For the last four years these special children have enjoyed rich camp experiences and made lasting friends and memories. The YMCA donates its facilities, the use of its vehicles and its staff to administrate the camp. Initially agency Respite Funds covered tuition for many of the children and community donations enabled us to expand the types and quality of experiences for them. In recent years the service agencies who have historically provided these respite care funds have found that those funds have been nearly eliminated. The children have a wide variety of abilities and challenges. In addition to overcoming physical and emotional challenges many of the children have had to cope with unstable living arrangements such as frequent resident changes and home placements. The unique requirements for their physical and emotional care, as well as, their limited financial resources often prevent these children from taking part in the types of summer fun activities enjoyed by other children their age. For the last four years through the generous contributions of our community, any child who did not have funding and could not afford the camp was able to attend the camp without charge. Without community donations we will not be able to help them.

We need your help!

Please take a look at a list of last year’s activities and their related costs. If you want to help, you or your organization may choose to sponsor one of the activities or the $200/week tuition cost for the children who are unable to afford to attend the camp. Any size donation would be appreciated.

We hope you share in our desire to ensure another 40 years of excitement and great service to the special needs youth in our neighborhoods.

Please take a moment to fill it out our donation form and return it with your donation. Thank you in advance for helping make summers bright and exciting for the children of Camp Bright Star.

Sincerely,

Sharon A. Cihlar, MS

Director of the YMCA’s YTeens Project