In our 40+ years of service, we have funded over 1300 camping summers and look forward to funding many more in the years to come. We work closely with our partner camps (currently 9 camps each summer) and through that collaboration have come to realize the importance of the camp experience to help foster young people that are more responsible, more caring, and more motivated.
Campers who:
· Are responsible and accountable for their actions
· Are respectful of themselves and the environment
· Make meaningful contributions to their families and communities
· Create healthy, positive relationships
· Learn to persevere, are resilient, and are open to new challenges
For the past several years, due to a significant increase in camper applications, the Bursary has funded an average of 55 campers at a cost of $112,000; both double our historical averages. Not only is this a substantial investment on an annual basis, but we also commit to each camper for the duration of his or her camping career, which has a potential impact of up to five years per camper. Furthermore, this is a spending commitment we will continue to make into the foreseeable future.
The Bursary Fund is growing and not simply through supporting an increasing number of deserving campers. We are also enhancing our existing camping community by infusing it with deserving campers of varied backgrounds who bring their multiple experiences and interests with them. By providing summer experiences for a broader and more diverse group of campers, the Bursary is helping create the leaders of tomorrow and fostering stronger communities today.
Camp experiences build self-confidence and create a community of authentic relationships in an environment where campers can collaborate, learn, and mature by sharing their own unique experiences. This community should be accessible to as many children as possible – to discover, grow, and thrive – as every child has something to offer.
But every community needs a champion. A community that is able to change, adapt, and grow; where success is measured in the confidence that’s built, the lessons learned, and the friendships made. The Bursary creates and supports exactly this kind of environment – a community that can only be achieved when we invest in our community of campers.
Cheers,
Tim “Mouse” Welsh
Chair,
Taylor Statten Camping Bursary Fund