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Earlier this year, we asked for your help, and you showed up! Together, we raised $30,000 to kick off production at Camp Footprint West!
The video below is just a window into the magic that unfolded at Camp Footprint West, made possible by every single one of you who donated, shared, and believed in this story. It’s a reminder of why we’re doing this. And what happens when kids with CMT finally find a place to belong.
In August, we’re heading to Camp Footprint East in Pennsylvania. It’s the original campsite and the birthplace of a youth-led movement that changed what it means to grow up with CMT.
Both camps offer a unique look into that impact:
- Camp West was created years after Camp East, because the need for community grew. It exists today because so many kids across the country were looking for a place to belong, so the Charcot Marie Tooth Association launched a second camp location on the west coast.
- Camp East is the original Camp Footprint, the place where it all began. The birthplace of the movement. The roots of everything we’re capturing in this film.
Beyond the Campfire is a feature documentary about how a group of campers living with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) helped reshape the future of a national organization and what it now means to grow up with this rare, progressive disability.
For those living with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, isolation can be all too familiar. Growing up with a rare disease often means being the only person in your school, your town, or even your family who truly understands what it’s like. That experience can make
the world feel incredibly lonely.
In 2016, Camp Footprint gave kids with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease something they’d never had before: a place to truly belong. What followed wasn’t just community, it was a movement. Former campers became leaders, founding the CMTA Youth Council, launching national youth programs, writing resources for youth, and building initiatives that now reach thousands of families.
This film tells the story of how they did it and how because of their work, no kid living with CMT will ever have to face it alone again.
Behind the lens is a small but mighty crew of filmmakers who have committed themselves to sharing these stories with heart, honesty, and authenticity.
So, let's meet the crew!
- Emily Sullivan - Director, Lives with CMT Type 1a
- Rachel Frank - Producer
- Cecelia Hubbard - Director of Photography
- Braedon Walters - B-Camera Operator
- Greg DeJesus - Sound Engineer
- Parker Davidson - Editor
- Jacob Bailes - BTS
In front of the camera are the campers, counselors, camp directors, and lifelong advocates who are living this story every day. Together, we’re not just making a film, we’re building a legacy that shows what community, visibility, and youth-led change looks like.
Let's meet the storytellers at the heart of this film!
- Jonah Berger, Co-Director at Camp Footprint, Co-Founder of the CMTA Youth Council, CMT Type 1X
- Jeana Sweeney, Co-Director at Camp Footprint, CMT Type 1A
- Laurel Richardson, Co-Director at Camp Footprint, CMT Type 1A
- Bridget Savant, Chair Dancing Instructor, CMT Type 1A
- Erin Black, Camper to Counselor at Camp Footprint, and Co-Founder of the CMTA Youth Council, CMT Type 1A
- Sam Docker, Camper to Counselor at Camp Footprint, Founding Member of the CMTA Youth Council, CMT Type 1A
- Riley Williams, Camper to Counselor at Camp Footprint, Founding Member of the CMTA Youth Council, CMT Type 1A
- Emily Stufflet, Founding Member of the CMTA Youth Council, CMT Type 2K
The full story of Beyond the Campfire can’t be told without Camp East. It’s the birthplace of the youth movement that changed the CMTA forever. It’s where the very first group of kids living with CMT came together in 2016, found community for the first time, and found their voices. Voices that would go on to shape what came next.
That’s why we’re asking for your help again.
We need to raise $30,000 to get to Camp East this August.
Your support will directly help us with:
- Travel: Getting our dedicated crew to and from camp
- Lodging: Giving the team a comfy spot to rest after long shooting days
- Accessibility: Renting golf carts to navigate the campgrounds
- Meals: Keeping our crew fueled and focused.
- Equipment & Logistics: Ensuring we capture this story with the quality it deserves and the insurance to support our ideas.
Your support made Phase One possible. Now, we’re asking you to help us keep going to the place where this whole movement began.
Camp West showed us how far the community has grown. Camp East will show us where it all started. With your help, we can keep telling the story from the beginning and beyond.
Beyond the Campfire is being filmed in four major phases throughout 2025. Each one captures a different piece of this movement, from where it started, to where it’s going next.
We’re taking you with us every step of the way!
- Phase One: Camp Footprint West (June 2025 — Completed) We traveled from Los Angeles and Florida to Otis, Oregon to film at Camp West, the second camp location born out of the growing need for connection. We captured interviews, group moments, personal stories, and the magic of what it means to belong.
- Phase Two: Camp Footprint East (August 2025 — Fundraising Now) This is the original Camp Footprint, the place where the youth movement began. Camp East is where campers first came together in 2016 and shaped the future of the CMTA. We need your help to get there!
- Phase Three: Patient & Research Summit (September 2025) This annual summit brings scientists, doctors, families, and patients together to share updates on CMTA’s Strategy to Accelerate Research (STAR). It’s where the science behind CMT is broken down into real-world progress and this year, it’s where our cameras will document a pivotal chapter in our story. But beyond the science, these gatherings have always held space for something just as important: connection.
- Phase Four: Youth Council Retreat (October 2025) Nearly a decade ago, a group of campers met at the very first Camp Footprint. Those early camp connections sparked a movement that would change everything. They saw the need for youth leadership, and they stepped up to create it. Those original campers founded the CMTA Youth Council, a group built on one mission: youth empowering youth.
We are so grateful for all the support that has brought us this far. Thanks to the generosity of so many, we’re now ready to take the next step: filming at Camp Footprint East, the original camp and where this incredible youth movement began.
This film is bigger than any one of us, and with your support, it will continue to shine a light on the strength, resilience, and heart of the CMT community.
What Footprint Will You Leave?
Making a film takes a community, and we'd love for you to be part of ours!
Here's how you can get involved:
- Pledge: No contribution is too small. Every dollar brings us closer to our goal!
- Share: Spread the word on social media or just by talking to a friend!
- Engage: Follow our journey on Instagram and Facebook @beyondthecampfire_film
Whether you have CMT, know someone who does, you're just now hearing about it for the first time, or you simply believe in the power of community, there’s a place for you.
Your support goes far beyond funding a film! It helps us reach the kids with CMT who feel alone, the parents searching for hope, and a world that needs to see what true inclusion, resilience, and community looks like.
So, if you believe in the impact of community, how one moment of belonging can set the course for a lifetime, please consider supporting this documentary.
Follow our campaign, share our story, and help us bring this vision to life. Together, we can make it happen!