CAMP CONNECTION
ISSUE 1 * VOL. 2 | SEPTEMBER 2020
BURN CAMP NEWS AND UPDATES
Virtual Summer Burn Camp Update
“Where there’s a will there’s a way!” To keep our burn camp family safe, we chose to cancel physically bringing our campers and staff to camp. This began our creative brainstorming on how we could bring the spirit of camp to our campers. We took a novel approach to help our campers connect, grow, and experience the magic that is camp. Virtual Camp was held from August 10th - 14th, and was developed with a three-pronged approach in mind: live Zoom sessions, pre-recorded videos, and mailing each camper their customized “Camp In A Box." All activities were created to celebrate the anchors of the Cheley Children’s Hospital Colorado Summer Burn Camp in a virtual environment.

The “Camp In A Box” was filled with room decorations, stickers, fun summer activities, craft activities, camp gear, snacks, and a gift card to provide one meal for the family for the week. All campers who registered received the “Camp In A Box.” This provided all campers, regardless of whether they were able to attend Virtual Camp, the opportunity to be a part of the Summer Burn Camp community until we can see them again at Cheley Colorado Camps in Estes Park.

What parents said about Virtual Summer Burn Camp:
"Thanks for putting on such an awesome program for all of the kids! I think it was nice for all of them to have something close to normal with everything going on this year!" - Jeff (Colby)

"Thank you for giving my daughter a space to truly be herself. The way her face lit up when that box arrived is something I will cherish forever. You guys are the absolute best!" - Evelyn (Abby)

What staff said about Virtual Summer Burn Camp:
"I don't think that anyone would describe 2020 as ideal. We constantly talk to kids about resilience and grit. Well 2020 is the year we all get to "accept this challenge." It could have been easy to say, "nope, camp won't be worth it because we won't be in person, we won't have the horseback riding, the challenge course, or out camps." But instead Trudy said yes! She said yes to showing these kids that we can do hard things, and that sometimes in life it might not be what we expect or want, but it can still turn out to be what we need. It was a beautiful reminder that camp is not about a physical place, but about the people who build and connect a community." - Ashley
2020 Creating Ties Goes Virtual
Creating Connection & Community
Saturday, November 14, 2020

The Burn Camps Program is dedicated to building new pathways to celebrate our campers and community. In the spirit of 2020, we are excited to announce our Virtual Creating Ties Dinner. This dinner will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2020. The theme of this year’s event is Creating Connection & Community. While the program may be digital, we are united and together we will build our community and create lasting connections in support of the Burn Camps Program. We can’t wait for you to join us for this unique event!

In lieu of individual tickets for sales, we will be offering “tables” of 6 or 10. Gather your friends interested in participating, choose a host home and the meals, drinks, and “Dinner In A Box” will be delivered to you. “Camp In A Box” was a huge success, after all who doesn’t like getting a surprise in the mail! We will bring this same excitement to your home with “Dinner In A Box.” Along with delicious food from Maggiano’s, we will provide a bit of fun and fancy to create the atmosphere we’ve grown to love in the year’s past. Depending on level, boxes may include a tablecloth, centerpiece, wine, metal wine glasses, stickers, and camp fun!

The program will be a mix of live streaming along with videos from Virtual Summer Burn Camp. There will be silent auction and we’ll be using the same online and mobile bidding platform as in years past, Give Smart. New this year, all monies raised will benefit our newly created Thrive Endowment. We hope you’ll join us for this unique and exciting virtual fundraising event!

We'll email the registration link once it's available, but in the meantime, if you're interested in supporting the event or would like more information, please contact Tim Schuetz at (720) 777-6292 or tim.schuetz@childrenscolorado.org.
Newly Created Thrive Endowment
Keating Wagner Polidori Free PC donated money to the Children’s Hospital Colorado Burn Camps Program to create an endowed fund. This is incredibly exciting and an investment in the Burn Camps Program. An endowment ensures any child who has sustained a burn injury has the opportunity to attend Burn Camp long into the future. Because an endowment is an invested pool of money that provides a reliable source of income in perpetuity, our program can count on annual distributions from the fund. This provides independence from internal and external forces allowing us to continue to provide excellent programming to any child and/or family that has sustained a burn injury. The Burn Camps Program is not only surviving but thriving after 36 years. And this arrangement ensures that we will be thriving another 36 years from now. The Thrive Endowment can accept additional contributions over time, resulting in even more support for Burn Camp. If you are interested in donating to the Thrive Endowment, please contact Tim Schuetz at (720) 777-6292 or tim.schuetz@childrenscolorado.org.
Fall and Winter Program Update
In the spirit of keeping our campers and staff safe, as well as regulations that are in place both on and off the mountain, we will not be meeting in Steamboat for our Winter Camp program. While we will miss our time on the mountain, we are exploring ways to continue to grow our programs.

While we don’t know what next year will hold, we are optimistic. We are exploring ways to continue to provide connection and support to our campers throughout the seasons ahead.