Who We Are:
CampCares, part of VETCares, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, offers support to military and veterans facing challenges. Our focus includes suicide prevention education, alternative therapy grants, emergency financial aid, trauma recovery grants, and outdoor PEER experiences.
Program Summary:
CampCares Outdoor PEER Experiences are essential for veterans navigating their journey of rediscovery. Alongside traditional medical methods, these PEER programs offer valuable support. Through purposeful activities, shared experiences, and collective progress, individuals can heal and overcome the traumas of their service.
Selection: Applicants are carefully vetted through a comprehensive documentation and interview process.
10-day Advance Experience: Designed to break down barriers, this phase includes assignments focused on reflection and sharing with fellow attendees.
5-day Live Experience: Participants engage in outdoor activities, purposeful evolutions, and fireside chats with PEER Specialists aimed at rediscovery.
45-day Post Experience: Debrief assignments reinforce concepts and goals set during the live experience, ensuring long-term healing.
CampCares Successes:
“I signed up for a fly-fishing trip and received so much more than the excitement of seeing that trout jump. I learned that I am much more than I could have imagined and am capable of so much more.”
“I know you deal with PTSD but it is a label that society put on you. You can get past it just like I did. I learned to live in the NOW not the past.”
– Shep,
• July – She Matters PEER Experience with 8 female veterans.
• August – Warrior Within PEER Experience with 8 male veterans.
2024 Budget: $120,000 • 16 Veterans = $7,500 Per Veteran
• Lodging | $16,000
• Fishing Guide & License | $8,584
• Coaches | $7,500
• Flights | $7,200
• Food | $6,000
• Administration | $3,000
• Van & Transport | $2,968
• Photography & Video | $3,910
• Fuel & Supplies | $4,838 $60,000 Total for each live experience
Veteran Sponsorship - $7,500 Live Experience Sponsorship - $60,000
Benefits:
Inclusion of corporate logos or individual names on the VETCares website, social media platforms, and Live Experience banners.
Recognition in our 2024 CampCares wrap-up videos.
Opportunity to present a check to Veteran Grant Recipients, with a video post on the VETCares website.
Invitation to attend a dinner with Veterans on the last night (Friday) of the Live Experience. Fulfillment of the noble purpose of giving back to those who have sacrificed for our freedom.
“I discovered I can just be a Dad and be a husband, I can just be me and not be perfect. I went to go fly fishing and got so much more out of the camp. I got my life back, my kids got their father back and my wife got her husband back. The veterans that attended the camp, we are now lifelong brothers. This camp changed lives and probably saved some lives. What was learned, I carry through, share and change veterans I meet and come across every day, it’s the butterfly effect, emerge, open wings and touch others. “
“The check ins after the camp kept me on track. I learned to take what I experienced and use it in a positive way with my family and I now take a step back when I feel something uncomfortable, I shift and use what I learned. This was about learning about myself, away from my family, away from psychologist, away from home to focus on myself to grow and be better and that I do have control in changing.”
