Care Camps Foundation Thanks the RV Industry

By Gwynn Sullivan
RVBusiness – November/December 2025

As the year is coming to a close…

I want to thank RVBusiness for providing this platform to recognize and thank those in the RV industry who generously support our mission: to give joy, hope and healing to children with cancer and their families at pediatric oncology camps.

A Bow to Sherm

Ten years ago, as we set out to expand our partnerships beyond KOA to have a greater impact, there was one person in particular who stepped up and helped us build new relationships for us in the RV industry — former RVBusiness Publisher Sherman Goldenberg.

Sherm continues to champion our cause on RVB’s Capitol Talk (and more), and I can’t thank him enough for his long-term, steadfast support.

Our RV Partners

This year (so far), our partners in the RV industry have collectively contributed over $650,000.

We are deeply grateful to the community of manufacturers, dealers, suppliers and associations who have rallied around us and fueled our mission.

I especially want to recognize the following companies for their very generous contributions and for staying by our side, especially through a plethora of uncertainty this year:

• Patrick Industries
• Forest River
• Campers Inn RV
• Lippert Components
• Thor Industries
• Brinkley RV
• Horizon Transport

We are also very grateful to the many individuals working within and beyond these companies who personally donate.

Additionally, we made many new connections at the Hershey RV Show and the Open House in Elkhart this year, and we appreciate all who are joining us before the year ends.

Oh Canada!

In Canada, Shane Devenish, president of the Canadian Recreational Vehicles Association (CRVA), showed up with an extraordinary fundraising opportunity.

To celebrate CRVA’s 50th anniversary, Shane engaged CRVA member General Coach Canada, who generously donated a brand-new 2025 25-foot Citation Reward Travel Trailer as a raffle giveaway for a year-long fundraiser on our behalf.

Shane and other Canadian champions have been and continue to drive the travel trailer across Canada, attending many events to enhance donations.

Go RVing Canada also developed a fantastic “RV the North” campaign to boost this fundraising effort.

We hope our RV partners in the U.S. will consider doing the same in the future… hint, hint!

What’s New: Compete for Kids

While we have been recognized as an approved in-kind charity with the RV Dealers Association (RVDA) since 2015, we want to thank Phil Ingrassia and his team who partnered with us this year to launch a new competitive fundraiser called “Compete for Kids.”

Compete for Kids is a friendly competition campaign for RV dealers to engage staff and customers in easy and simple giving. Individual dealerships who signed up chose how they wanted to activate the campaign in their respective stores, and we were especially blown away by the support of smaller family-owned dealers.

Jenna Berneck, our development director, and I are excited to honor and acknowledge the top dealers and fundraisers at the upcoming RVDA Convention in Las Vegas this month. We’ll publish the results afterwards, so stay tuned!

The 2026 Compete for Kids campaign is already being planned, and we look forward to continuing this momentum. For those attending the RVDA Convention, come see us at our booth to learn more and sign up!

Check Us Out on Lifetime TV

Another big highlight this year: Care Camps Foundation was prominently featured on a special episode of “Designing Spaces of Hope” that recently aired on Lifetime TV.

You can watch the full 20-minute episode at: www.carecamps.org/designing-spaces

I promise these few minutes will uplift your spirit, and you will have a better understanding of why we exist and the impact of your donations.

A special thank you to:

• Patrick Industries Inc.
• Kampgrounds of America Inc. (KOA)
• Hyundai Hope on Wheels
• Mattel Children’s Foundation
• The J.M. Smuckers Company
• BrandStar

These sponsors made this possible for us.

In Closing

On behalf of the Care Camps Foundation team and board members, thank you to all in the RV community who have embraced our mission this year, despite the many challenges you have faced.

Every year we begin again, as the funds that we raise together determine our annual funding to the 125 pediatric oncology camps we support across the U.S. and Canada.

With Giving Tuesday and year-end upon us, please consider including Care Camps Foundation in your contributions. Every single dollar makes a difference, and your generosity matters so much!

In closing, I hope you will feel pride in the part you, as an industry, collectively and individually, have contributed. Because of you, thousands of children living with cancer and their families can get away from the chaos of their medical treatments and experience the pure joy of being in nature with others who truly understand their journey.

For more information and inspiration, visit: www.carecamps.org