KOA Care Camps was recognized in the fall edition of the “LoveLetter” produced by Special Love, Inc., the nonprofit organization that started Camp Fantastic in Front Royal, Va., in 1983.
The biannual newsletter is sent to 7,000 people and highlights Special Love’s efforts to lift the spirits of children with cancer, their families and friends through Camp Fantastic and more than a dozen other programs. It serves the greater Washington, D.C., area.
The newsletter said that with its June gift, KOA Care Camps has provided $89,000 in funding for Camp Fantastic since 1999. Care Camps has been supporting such camps since it was formed in 1984.
Dave Smith, the chief executive officer of Special Love, was named to the KOA Care Camps board as a non-voting member in 2014, the newsletter said. As president of the Children’s Oncology Camping Association International (COCA-I) since 2012, he has worked to strengthen the relationship between Care Camps and COCA-I. More than 80 COCA-I members received funding from Care Camps in 2014, the newsletter reported.
For the first time, annual donations to Care Camps surpassed the $1 million mark in 2014. More than $8 million has been raised for the charity since its inception.