Each week, our campers and staff look forward to participating in Thankful Thursdays. On Thursdays, time is set aside at each of our camps for work on a community service project – a different cause and a different mission each week. Our Thankful Thursday projects are geared specifically to the ages of our campers, allowing each child to really grasp who and why they are helping each week. It is so special to see how our 230+ camps, who are all working on the same project on the same day, team up to impact a variety of wonderful causes! Since we began the tradition of Thankful Thursdays in 2014, we have seen our campers and staff truly embrace the spirit of camp and of giving. The camp experience gives so much to each of us and we are extremely proud to pay it forward.
Giving Back
Here are some highlights from the past few summers:
Who They Are:
Shauna Fleming founded A Million Thanks in 2004, when she was just 15 years old. The campaign began as a community service project in Orange County, CA, with the goal of sending one million cards and letters of appreciation to U.S. military serving around the world. The local project turned into a national cause just three weeks after its initial launch. Tens of thousands of letters poured in each week, written by individuals, churches, schools, business, and other organizations. To date, A Million Thanks has distributed more than seven million letters to U.S. troops stationed around the world.
How KE Campers Help:
Campers create beautiful and uplifting Thank You Cards to send to U.S. military men and women around the globe.
Find Out More:
www.amillionthanks.org
Who They Are:
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004). In 2000, 4-year-old Alex announced that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer. Since Alex held that first stand, the Foundation bearing her name has evolved into a national fundraising movement, complete with thousands of supporters across the country carrying on her legacy of hope.
How KE Campers Help:
Each summer, our campers and staff have an Alex’s Lemonade Stand Day on which we set up actual lemonade stands at our clubs. We sell refreshing lemonade (homemade!) to members and guests at the facility. The money raised is donated to this wonderful organization at the end of each summer. In Summer 2022, our camper raised over $20,000.
Find Out More:
www.alexslemonade.org
Who They Are:
Cards for Hospitalized Kids is an internationally recognized charitable organization that spreads hope, joy and magic to hospitalized kids across America through uplifting, handmade cards.
How KE Campers Help:
Campers create beautiful and uplifting Get Well Cards to send to sick children in hospitals across the U.S.
Find Out More:
www.cardsforhospitalizedkids.com
Who They Are:
Provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.”
How KE Campers Help:
Our campers become the “blanketeers” and handmake comfy and cozy fleece knot-tie blankets to donate to this great organization.
Find Out More:
www.projectlinus.org
Who They Are:
Project Morry is a nonprofit, year-round youth development organization, anchored by a residential summer camp with an educational focus. The organization is dedicated to giving inner-city children enriching learning opportunities through a curriculum based on school gatherings and an intensive summer camp program.
How KE Campers Help:
On our annual Project Morry Day, campers participate in a “Walk/Run/Swim/Relay-athon” to raise money for Morry’s Camp. Throughout the day, our campers enjoy various activities that can be measured in laps (ie: swimming, running, potato sack races, obstacle courses, etc.)! Our staff keep a running total of their camp’s total “laps” and our main office converts the lap total into a monetary donation at the end of each summer. We are proud to have raised over $2000 for this great organization this past summer.
Find Out More:
www.projectmorry.org
Who They Are:
SCOPE (Summer Camp Opportunities Promote Education) is a national, nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide children from underserved communities with life changing opportunities through the experience of summer camp.
SCOPE funds camp scholarships “camperships” to send children who commit to staying in school to nonprofit, resident camps which will empower them to develop to their full potential.
How KE Campers Help:
On our annual day for SCOPE, campers create “Giving Jars”. By performing good deeds and acts of kindness, campers can earn tickets to put in their Giving Jars. The total number of tickets as a camp are later converted into monetary donations for SCOPE.
Find Out More:
www.scopeusa.org