It’s that time of year again when we are getting flooded with hopeful parents and guardians looking to have their youth attend one of our amazing summer camps. Unlike our normal programming that we do throughout the year, our summer camps are not free of cost to those who attend. Each of our summer camps have a set cost that differs based on whether or not it is a local camp or an out of town camp.
As a nonprofit organization, Youth Odyssey wants all youth to be able to attend and experience the fun and growth that a summer camp can provide; and their financial situation should not hinder that opportunity. That is why, every year, we look to our Coastal Bend Community to help us sponsor youth for camps. For those parents and guardians that call us and ask if we can help them get their youth into one of our summer camps we let them know that we will do everything we can to ensure their youth gets that chance through sponsors.
We accept sponsorships of all sizes, from all places, and can either be mailed in to our office or donated online. In order to fully sponsor a youth for one of our camps it’s $500. If you would like to sponsor an entire camp it would be $5,000 and if you’d like to become a full title sponsor and support all of our summer camps it is $25,000. We know that not everyone can contribute those amounts and that’s why if you want to donate any sum of money to our summer camp sponsorship fund you can. Every dollar counts when it comes to giving a youth the chance to experience the fun of a Youth Odyssey summer camp.
For those of you who may not be aware of the summer camps that we are hosting this year the list is as follows:
Delta Adventure Camp: June 4th – 9th, 2017 (Overnight)
This camp is all about pushing our participants to expand their horizons and try new things while enjoying the beauty of the Nueces Delta Preserve. Each day of this camp we focus on different activities that are guaranteed to open the eyes of the participants to new and exciting experiences. We incorporate our ropes course, kayaking, SCUBA diving, CPR/First Aid training, and the beach of course to give our campers an amazing and memorable week with Youth Odyssey.
“Youth Odyssey showed me you have to overcome your fears and work with others to achieve your goals”.16 Year Old Female
Living Local Camp: June 12th – 17th, 2017 (Overnight)
This is a week of learning more about where our food comes from and how to live a healthier lifestyle. We are partnering up with GROW Local South Texas to give us a look at all aspects of a foods lifecycle, from planting and growing to harvesting and selling the goods at the local farmers market. Of course we get to eat some of the yummy foods we will be talking about as well when we tour a working farm and discuss the importance of eating nutritious foods with the Corpus Christi Food Bank. We will also be incorporating horseback riding in our camp to give our participants a taste of something new and, since we will be camping at Mustang Island State Park, enjoying the beach is a must too.
Hit the Trail Backpacking Camp: June 26th – July 1st, 2017 (Overnight)
Hiking is great but backpacking is another animal entirely, and we want up to 10 determined youth to be able to experience it through this camp. We will be trekking through the Sam Houston National Forest, and over the course of three days, will cover about 20 miles of beautiful trail. We host a before-camp get together to allow the participants to pick out their packs and get a better idea of what to pack and expect for the week long camp. We will be camping at established primitive camp sites as well as a non primitive site for one night. There will be access to a lake for some swimming and relaxation after the trek is over. Backpacking can be tough both mentally and physically, but the sense of accomplishment after the trek is over makes it all worth it.
On the Water Canoe Camp: July 11th – 16th, 2017 (Overnight)
This camp takes place at Martin Dies, Jr. State Park in east Texas and is open to all levels of paddlers. As you can assume, this camp focuses on learning the ins and outs of canoeing in a fun and casual environment. Aside from just learning about how to canoe, this camp will also go over what to do in case a canoe flips, it is called “T-rescues.” We spend a good amount of a day having everyone practice these maneuvers and going over other scenarios that we may encounter in order to ensure a fun and safe camp. Because of the time of year we usually have the whole campground to ourselves and are able to enjoy the sounds of nature and picturesque sunsets.
Girls Empowerment Camp: (Ages 12-17) July 31st – August 5th (Overnight)
This camp is one of two new summer camps that we’ve added this year and the focus is to empower young women. We aim to build up and improve their self-confidence, respect for themselves and others and to have them realize that they can do whatever they put their minds to, no matter what anyone else believes. We’ve learned that the more confident a person is the more likely they are to stand up for what they want and have the strength to make good, positive decisions for themselves and others.
“Everything about Youth Odyssey is fun and I’ve learned to trust and talk to people more.”14 Year Old Female
OutdoorsMEN Camp: (Ages 12-17) August 12th – 17th, 2017 (Overnight)
The OutdoorsMEN Camp is the other new addition to our summer camp schedule and our last summer camp of the season. Like our Girls Empowerment Camp, the goal for this camp to help foster maturity and confidence into the young men who attend. The aim is to work on respect, for themselves and others, self-confidence and give them tools that will help them throughout their lives and when making tough decisions. Both of our empowerment camps will use guest speakers and hands on activities to open our participants eyes to what they can do if they push themselves to accomplish their goals.
“Youth Odyssey gave me the skills to solve problems with my friends instead of fighting.”12 Year Old Male
All of our camps are open to any youth who wants to participate in them. Our age range is 10-17 for all camps, unless otherwise listed, and each camp will hold up to 10 participants. If you would like to support a youth and help send a kid to camp then you can click here for more information and contribute online or via mail. We are also open to corporate sponsors as well and for our whole camp sponsorships and all camp sponsorships. Remember, every dollar counts!
