Camp Wildcat

Camp Wildcat (CW) is a non-profit youth organization based in Tucson, Arizona which has served local disadvantaged youth since 1965. The organization is entirely operated by college students and is a recognized club at The University of Arizona.

Overview

Camp Wildcat events are all themed in a way to portray higher education as an achievable goal for the disadvantaged youth who participate in the programs.

Camps and other events

Some examples of the dozens of cost-free events produced and staffed by Camp Wildcat each year for local disadvantaged youth:
* Tent camping and hiking at the Grand Canyon
* Cabin camping on Mount Lemmon
* Indoor pediatrics camp with microwave s’mores
* Camps to discover other societies and cultures
* Games and day trips with deaf and blind kids
* Reunion picnics with former campers

Campers

The participants in Camp Wildcat's activities come from different places. For example:
* Schools with a high percentage of students in the National School Lunch Program
* Pediatrics units at Tucson hospitals
* Women’s and children’s shelters
* Centers for children with physical and mental disabilities

Financial support

With no paid staff, Camp Wildcat operates on a very small budget. The college students who run Camp Wildcat coordinate many fundraising activities each year. The major sources of funding are:
* Private, tax-deductible donations
* Sponsor-a-camper programs
* Annual fundraising events
* ASUA funding
* Corporate product donations
* Grants

Primary expenses are camp rental, insurance and transportation (most food and equipment are donated; staff is volunteer).

History

Camp Wildcat was founded in 1965 by Richard Shogren. A U of A graduate student in urban planning, Shogren came to the University of Arizona from the University of California at Berkeley in the fall of 1964. He had been very involved at Berkeley's "Cal Camp" and decided that Arizona needed a similar program. The Student Senate's backing was obtained in the spring of 1965.

More Camp Wildcat history is available from the Camp Wildcat official website: http://uofacampwildcat.org/history.

Trivia

* In 1969, Camp Wildcat started a fundraising carnival called The Rites of Spring. This evolved over the years into what is now [http://springfling.arizona.edu Spring Fling] , the largest student-run carnival in the United States.
* Several people who participated in Camp Wildcat as a camper have gone on to attend the University of Arizona and joined Camp Wildcat as a counselor.

External links

* [http://uofacampwildcat.org Camp Wildcat] official website