Join us in supporting the Camp It Up! BIPOC Campership Fund as Camp It Up! comes back stronger than ever from the pandemic related closure.

In these challenging and unprecedented times, we are reaching out to you and the wider past and present Camp It Up! (CIU!) family with a special request for support. CIU! is re-opening this summer after two years of pandemic-related closure. This is a crucial time for us to make sure that CIU! continues and thrives for many years to come, as a safe and radically inclusive space for LGBTQAI+ families and allies. For several years the Camp It Up! Change Circle has been shepherding CIU! through a process to recognize the impacts of institutional racism in our community, and to move camp towards a vision of restorative justice and equity. The current CIU! Board is 86% LGBTQAI+ and 57% of board members are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). They are committed to having a minimum of 50% LGBTQAI+ and BIPOC campers, staff, and Board members in 2022.

That is why our family has decided to donate towards a campership (financial support) fund for BIPOC families. We have committed to give $1200 to sponsor two campers. We are asking you to dig deep and join us in donating an amount that is meaningful to you and your family. As you consider this request, we invite you to consider the impact that CIU! has had for you and your family over the years. Our goal is to raise $15,000 for the campership fund by May 1st, which will fully support at least 25 campers. We have heard that Camp It Up! registration is filling up fast and there are already many families that have requested support. Perhaps you and your family would like to sponsor a family of four for $2400, two campers for $1200, one camper for $600, or any amount that is meaningful to you such as $100 or $20. It will take all of us to make sure that this vision becomes a reality.

Many of you have been integral to our camp memories for more than 30 years. For our family, Camp It Up! has been a home, a reunion, and a witness to years and decades of love and joy as well as loss and grief. In fact, the Connor-Haley-Parker family owes our existence to CIU! 

Cathy and Josh first came to camp as a single mother and 9 year-old son and found a lifetime of friendship and community. For Josh, camp became a constant uplifting presence as he continued through many years as a camper, staff, director of the counselor-in-training program, and then returning with his own kids in 2019. Many of his most enduring adult friendships began at camp.  Kathleen initially came to camp with her partner Cheryl Parker and their kids. The CIU! community held Kathleen and the Haley-Parker family during and after Cheryl’s passing. Eventually Cathy and Kathleen met at camp and fell in love. The rest, as they say, is history. Cathy and Kathleen have been together for 29 years and they had the joy of returning to camp with two of their grandkids in 2019. As a family, we are committed to making sure that other families can access the incredible love and community that we have experienced over the years.

More about camp: Camp It Up! is the first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Asexual, Intersex + (LGBTQAI+) family camp in the United States. Our organizational Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) goals include having; a minimum of 50% BIPOC & LGBTQAI+ campers, staff, and Board of Directors members in 2022. Camp It Up! aspires to be a place where all campers experience a deep sense of safety and belonging. Camp It Up! is ready to celebrate the fierce, diverse, glittering, gorgeousness of our whole community!

Camp It Up! Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization. Donations made to Camp It Up Inc. are tax deductible!

Our Tax ID number is 26-2733972