NON-PROFIT SPOTLIGHT C.A.M.P University

C.A.M.P. University is a 501 c3, not-for-profit day program offered to high school graduates with intellectual delays.

C.A.M.P. stands for Can Achieve Maximum Potential and is based on the belief that special education graduates can and should continue staying active socially, mentally, and physically to reach their maximum potential. Although not an actual University, C.A.M.P. does provide ways for members to challenge themselves and explore interests.

C.A.M.P. University started when a local McAllen family found that when their daughter graduated high school, they were asking themselves, “Well, what are we going to do now?”  So, her mother started calling the parents of friends from school and organizing get-togethers a few days a week. As the years went on, they ran into more and more families faced with the same question –“Well, now what are we going to do?”  C.A.M.P. University was therefore born to be an answer —a big answer—for many families in the same predicament with a young adult who couldn’t go off to a neurotypical university but still needed a place to develop, learn, and interact with peers.  That was circa 2007, and C.A.M.P. is in its 16th year of being a day program that is a safe space for adults with special needs.

For the CAMPers, C.A.M.P. University is the place they can call their own, where they can be with their friends and feel fully accepted. For the CAMPers’ families, CAMP provides an affordable and safe respite. Parents and families can leave their loved ones at CAMP feeling at peace, knowing they are loved, safe, and staying active. Parents can also be at peace with the cost to attend CAMP. It is of the highest priority to the C.A.M.P. University Board of Directors and administration to keep the cost of attending affordable. Tuition to attend has not increased for over seven years. Through grants, fundraising, and community support, a scholarship for over two-thirds of the cost to attend is provided for each CAMPer.

C.A.M.P. University is a growing part of the community that will be here for many years to come.

C.A.M.P. University

4200 N Main St, McAllen, TX 78504 (956) 800-5292

CampUniversity.org

Facebook: /CampUniversity