The Center for Courageous Kids: A Community-based Program

The Center for Courageous Kids: A Community-based Program

The Center for Courageous Kids is a camp formed in Scottsville, Kentucky, to support and give an outlet to children with life threatening diseases or illnesses. The following paper will give an outlook on the history, population served, services provided, staff, and clients as well as a look at the budget and where funding comes from to keeps the Camp for Courageous Kids running from year to year.
History
The Center for Courageous Kids (CCK) (personal communication, 2011) was founded October 2004 and was called at this time Project C.A.M.P (Children Are Magnificent People). CCK is a not-for –profit organization (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communications, 2011). The camp was first created to assist children in the states of Tennessee and Kentucky with chronic diseases as well as surrounding states with children in need. CCK is considered a world class medical camping resource that delivers at no cost and unforgettable camping experiences for many children with life threatening diseases and disabilities.
Population Served The Center for Courageous Kids welcomes children with more than 60 rare and unique conditions. The summer session serve children from the age of seven to fifteen with illness such as severe asthma, HIV positive, kidney disease, arthritis, heart disease, spina bifida, hemophilia, juvenile cancer, sickle cell, and many others are determined upon application (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communications, 2011). There is a family session in the summer offered called Summer Illness Groups PLUS, and this is offered to children and their families. The illness include children on ventilators, craniofacial abnormalities, IBD, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, serve food allergies, down syndrome, diabetes, and developmental disabilities (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communications, 2011). The campers come from far and near to be part of the camp. There have been four campers from Canada and 1256 from the state of Kentucky (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communications, 2011). The camp is open to children from all over America and Canada, but the priority if for the children in the community and surrounding communities in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Serviced Offered The facility has programs to fit the needs of any child no matter the illness or handicap. There is singing, cooking, woodworking, bowling, painting, archery, swimming, basketball, beauty shop, campfire sing-alongs, stage performances, fishing, horseback riding, the climbing wall, and the opportunity to meet new friends (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communication, 2011). During the summer there is a nine weeks of illness specific summer sessions where the child will attend for a week with other children battling the same medical condition. This ables the children to create relationships and make friends for life allowing them to know they are not alone in their battle. On the weekends where the families attend with their sick child, the whole family attends and focuses on challenges with other families facing the same issues. Allowing the siblings of the sick child to understand there is ways to make the best of the situation and gives them emotional support as well as the sick child. During family weekend there is a Parents Night-Out allowing the parents to get out together and discuss issues and give support to one another. There are also alumni programs available to camper families, volunteers, and summer staff. Serving over 7,000 children and families in 29 states and Canada, each member of the alumni program in involved with the new families (Camp for Couragous Kids, 2011).

Mission Statement The mission statement for The Center for Courageous Kids (personal communication, 2011) is as follows: To uplift children who have life-threatening illnesses by creating experiences year-round that are memorable, exciting, fun, build self-esteem, are physically safe, and medically sound.
Demographics
Staff and Client Makeup CCK is made of a vast number of different individuals who make up the staff. The founder is Elizabeth Turner Campbell (granddaughter to Cal Turner, founder of Dollar General Stores), President/Executive Director/CEO Roger E. Murtie, Secretary Croley Graham, and Director Stockton Clark, these all make up the board of CKK Board of Directors (personal communication, 2011). The staff is made up of the CKK Board of Directors, and 22 other paid positions. These positions include some of the following: barn manager, dining hall manager, camper recruiter, camp r.n., program coordinator, family retreat coordinator, and staff recruiting coordinator to name a few (Camp for Couragous Kids, personal communication, 2011). All staff members are paid members and are not volunteers although they do volunteer their time in other areas of camp. There is a full medical staff on hand at all time. The medical staff includes: medical doctors (illness specific specialist for each week of summer and family camps), registered nurses and licensed practical nurses (each RN/LPN with groups of 16 children), medical technicians (with number appropriate for the children at camp and illness), medical support staff, and volunteers (Camp for Couragous Kids, personal communication, 2011). The selection process is done be the medical team and the camp director. There are campers from all areas in the country. The applicants with this more severe illness become top priority during the selection, but they must be medical able to attend camp. Children must be between the age of seven and fifteen and be able to function in a camp setting. Children are given two consecutive summer camp session and priority is given to new and first return campers. Children who are actively receiving medical treatment are also given top priority. There is also a 50/50 ratio with gender so this plays a role in the decision-making process (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communications, 2011). There is a program called Helping Hands, which is an alumni program open for all camper families, volunteers, and summer staff, each person can become a lifetime member at no cost. The mission of the Helping Hands Alumni is to bring together camper families, volunteers, and summer staff in an effort to build a strong group of supporters who will uplift the overall mission. Over the years there has been more than 1,800 volunteers that have helped with facilitate the camp with the retreats and family weekends (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communications, 2011). There have been volunteers that have come to the camp from as far as Scotland. With all the volunteers there is a staff of 62 college students each summer. In 2010, there were 210 medical volunteers that gave their time to the camp free of charge (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communications, 2011).
Annual Budget The annual budget for 2010 is made up of donations from individuals ($1,204,910), civic groups and government ($71,298), health care partners ($166,800), foundations ($2,304,683), corporations ($122,448), gifts in-kind ($156,516), and others ($35,927). These donations make up total revenue of $4,063,212 (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communication, 2011). The annual expenses for the camp total $3,968,247. With the expenses coming from three different areas within the CKK and two ongoing expenses (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communications, 2011). The camp programs ($3,586,382), development ($139,951), and administration ($241,914) that creates most of the expenses for the budget. There is also a depreciation of $673,134 and a bond expense of $794,337 included in the 2010 expenses (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communications, 2011).
Source of Budget The money from the budget comes in many forms with one being from membership to Helping Hands through the Camp Courageous Kids. Membership costs are $20.11 a month, for the “Twenty Eleven” campaign (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communications, 2011). Each person who pays this membership for a year will send one more kid to the camp and make a difference in the life of a whole family. In 2010 there were 62 paying members of the Helping Hands through the CKK (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communications, 2011). There are many individual donors to the CKK, but there have been many who have exceeded the $1,000,000 mark or more. Elizabeth Turner Campbell (founder) has donated over $100,000,000 to CKK, there have been there individuals with one being anonymous that have donated an excess of $10,000,000 apiece (Camp for Courageous Kids, personal communications, 2011). Many people will donate in the name of a child who did not survive their illness, and this makes up hundreds of thousands dollars a year. CCK is maintained by support from contributions and donations from individuals, corporations, health care partners, foundations, and the community surrounding the facilities.
Conclusion
The Camp for Courageous Kids was set up to help improve the lives of children with life threating illness and their families. Since 2004 there has been numerous lives’ improved by a camp developed in a small town in Kentucky. With the help of volunteer, donation, and the staff members the camp continues to grow and thrive changes lives of children from as far as Canada and as close as the small town in Kentucky where founded. The dream of Elizabeth Turner Campbell has continued to change lives and make dreams come true. The budget changes year to year depending on the loving donations of the many member of Helping Hands and loving community members. The Camp for Courageous Kids has not where to go but up and to continue to grow within the community and surrounding areas.