Camp Sunshine

“Camp Sunshine accepts donations that are earmarked for our Campership Fund (Tommy Scholarship Grant) which are given to families of children who cannot afford to pay the family portion of camp. This year camp funded 1 full tuition and 1 partial tuition for a total of $2,100. We purchased wagon's for another 501(c)(3) charity (Tru Community EIN 99-0596014) to help assist them with their startup. Total cost of wagons $119. We gave a monetary donation to a 501(c)(3), Hearts for Music Inc. (EIN 82-0805097) of $150.00. Total grants and gifts $2,369.”

“Description;Amount^Social Media;391|Acknowledgement Expenses;1286|Camp Field Trip Expenses;3286|Field Trip Transportation Costs Bussing;2797|PayPal Venmo Stripe Fees;824|QuickBook Payment Fees;590|QuickBook Software;1234|In Kind Donation Awards;4795|Liability Insurance;2124|Camp Supplies and Purchases;1265|Tax Processing 1099 990 and Nonprofit Registration;225^Total;18817^”

“Camp Sunshine has no full-time staff. Business operations are run by an all-volunteer board and individuals who work independently that meet periodically throughout the year. Camp Sunshine runs a 4-week intensive summer program for children with disabilities, emphasizing social, educational (utilizing their Individual Education Plan), and communication skills practiced during real life experiences, so children have limited time to regress during the summer school break. Virtually all funds collected are used to provide high quality programming for the children who attend camp and provide camperships for needy families. Funds are used to pay qualified staff but also pay for meaningful camp activities such as field trips, in house music and art therapy. We provide programming emphasizing vocational skills for our older campers and provide them opportunities to explore job sites in the local community. This past summer we added a preschool classroom as our older kids have begun to age out and we had the room to be able to add the younger children at camp. While families pay for their children to attend camp, our goal is that they should pay no more than what they might pay for a typical child to attend similar programming, even though we must provide much more intensive supervision and adult support to meet the needs of a range of children with disabilities. Over the past 16 years, camp has grown from the original 6 campers to this year serving 34 children with more significant disabilities alongside 8 typical peers and 18 teen volunteers. Camp Sunshine trains typical peers and volunteers who model learning for the children with disabilities but also learn how to interact with other children whose communication and movement may be very different than their own. While spending time together, they learn that they all play and can enjoy the same things, a valuable lesson for everyone. Camp Sunshine is a place where a child with a disability can find consistency, reassurance, fun and meaningful interaction with other children. We are proud that we are able to give them this opportunity.”