Camp Opportunity 2017 Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT 2017 Camp Opportunity

breaking the cycle of abuse & neglect one child at a time

TABLE OF CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

03

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

04

THE NEED

06

WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT

07

OUR PROGRAMS

08

IN THE FUTURE

11

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

12

WHERE MONEY GOES

15

OUR SUPPORTERS & FUNDERS

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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Another year has passed successfully for Camp Opportunity. We continue to move toward the goal we set three years ago — to increase the number of campers to 100. This past year we had another record increase in our camperships and volunteer base. Camp Opportunity is a nonprofit organization run entirely by volunteers who are committed to making a difference in the lives of at-risk children. Our services are entirely free to the children and families we serve. We provide a weeklong residential camping program for children who are abused and/or neglected. Nearly all of these unfortunate children have been abused to the level of being placed under the supervision of an assigned child protective services caseworker. Due to the severe damage and needs of our campers, we recruit one volunteer counselor for each and every camper we accept. This one to one approach provides a unique bond and level of attention they need and deserve. In addition to the annual summer camping program, our children are provided opportunities for activities throughout the year where we can reinforce the life lessons and love we offer each and every one of them. We have made a difference and, with continued support, will grow our efforts. There are thousands of children in Maryland between 8-11 years old who have been identified as abused. Our long term goal is to grow our program so we can have a greater impact on these young people and put them in a better position to have a successful life. Roger Hayden, Chair

ROGER HAYDEN Former Baltimore Co. Executive

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERS ROGER HAYDEN, Chair Former Baltimore County Executive MISSY TEAGUE, Vice Chair Merritt Companies DANIEL BROH-KAHN, Treasurer Six Sided Simulations

DIRECTORS BILL PENNINGTON, Executive Director (on leave) & Co-founder Former Executive & Business Owner DANIEL DUTROW, Executive Director (Acting) Protenus

ZIYAN DING, Secretary Whiteford, Taylor & Preston

MEMBERS PATTY BALLINGER Harford County Public Schools TYRONE BULLOCK Clergy JOHN GONTRUM Whiteford, Taylor & Preston JIM JOHNSON Former Baltimore County Police Chief DENISE KOCH WJZ TV News Anchor REBECCA METZGER M & R Creations

HEAD COUNSELORS ELLEN ARCHIBALD MICAELA ITTER CYNTHIA FIORINO JIM CLARK KEY CAMP STAFF Program Director DARLENE WALDT Assistant Director SARAH MAMARIL Camper Coordinator REBECCA METZGER Volunteer Coordinator ASENA TERRY, MSW

DAVE PERROTT Paper Mill Pharmacy CHUCK RITZ Hope and Peace Foundation

NICK MCGREIVY MATT METZGER NATHANIEL WHIMS

BRUCE SCHINDLER Bob Davidson Ford

PATTI STEINBERG, Co-founder Baltimore County Public Schools, Retired PHIL STEINBERG Baltimore County Public Schools, Retired STAN STOVALL NBC WBAL TV News Anchor

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VOLUNTEER DIVERSITY 4 MALE HEAD COUNSELORS

4 FEMALE HEAD COUNSELORS

24 FEMALE JUNIOR COUNSELORS

25 MALE JUNIOR COUNSELORS

23 DRIVERS

26 STAFF MEMBERS

ANNUAL DOLLARS

52

CAMPERS HELPED

50

$100,000

45

INCOME

40

$80,000

36

31

EXPENSES

30

$60,000

27

20

$40,000

10

$20,000

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

FIVE-YEAR COMPARISON

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THE NEED

In 2016 alone 1,396 children aged 8-11 were verified victims of abuse in Maryland. These are the children we serve.

INVESTIGATED & VERIFIED VICTIMS

OUR REFERRAL PROCESS The children we serve are referred to us by professionals in the child services community. Teachers, guidance counselors, social workers and members of the clergy have all identified children who would benefit from Camp Opportunity. We work with professionals, parents, and legal guardians to ensure that the children we serve are those who could most benefit and that we are best prepared to help.

346 KIDS 10 YEARS OLD

322 KIDS 11 YEARS OLD

350 KIDS 9 YEARS OLD

378 KIDS 8 YEARS OLD

TYPES OF ABUSE MARYLAND CHILDREN, ALL AGES

PHYSICAL ABUSE 1,597 (23%)

SEXUAL ABUSE 1,697 (24%)

NEGLECT 4,187 (60%)

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

*Percentages do not add up to 100% as some children are victims of multiple forms of abuse and are counted more than once.

SOURCES U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children’s Bureau, Child Maltreatment 2016 Report

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WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT

Camp Opportunity’s mission is to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect in Maryland. We serve children aged 8 to 11 who are victims of physical, sexual or neglectful child abuse. We offer them a fun, safe, one-week reprieve from their troubled households and nurture their sense of dignity and self-worth. The primary ingredient of our camp is one-on-one camp counseling where each counselor spends all day, every day, with their assigned camper. “ Our program empowers children (and volunteers) to try new things in an atmo- sphere that is supportive and conducive for building social skills. We provide up to four years of attendance in our program, molding the children in this crucial time in their lives. Most children we serve experience very difficult and unpleasant home lives that (more often than not) cause mental and emotional problems. These are children who are victims, by birth or circumstance, that often cause lasting damage to their view of life, their self-image and their view of how the world operates. They are traumatized children, from damaged homes, and our single purpose is to intervene in such a way as to give them a healthy life. We accept children who are entering the third grade of school (usually 8 years old), and they are allowed to remain in our program up to four years. “

“

There is no fee of any kind for any Camp Opportunity child to attend camp or mid-year activities.

“

Everything we offer to children is free.

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OUR PROGRAMS

CAMP OPPORTUNITY Camp Opportunity of Maryland began in 1985 with the first week- long residential camp for abused and neglected children ages 8-11. Our community of volunteers come from all over Maryland and beyond. Our campers are referred by case workers in the Social Services Department of Baltimore City, and multiple counties in Maryland. We are a certified youth camp with the state of Maryland Department of Mental Health and Hygiene. At camp, we provide children an opportunity to experience respect from others in a setting where they are safe. Our approach empowers them to establish (in many cases for the first time ever) healthy relationships with adults and peers in an atmosphere that is supportive. Those relationships nurture their uniqueness, their talents and capabilities. Activities and classes at each of our camps are designed to coach campers in problem-solving strategies and give abundant positive reinforcement that builds self-esteem. Each camper is assigned to his or her personal counselor whose role is to support, guide, facilitate discovery, and be a friend.

These activities, combined with a daily theme class that focuses on self-worth, self- awareness, and self-esteem, help campers: ○ Develop a self-image as a person of worth ○ Learn to accept the differences of others ○ Develop leadership qualities ○ Set and pursue positive goals ○ Improve their ability to handle stress ○ Develop problem solving skills ○ Develop the ability to make decisions and be responsible for those decisions ○ Recognize that each person is a unique individual with special worth

○ Establish the ability to trust

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INTERIM ACTIVITIES In addition to a summer camp, we also gather campers, counselors and staff for a summer picnic, and celebrate every child’s birthday with a common cake and a personal gift-wrapped present. We also provide a winter activity. In January of 2017, we took the children and their counselors to Pottery Cove to create and paint ceramic pieces and then gathered for pizza at “Peace of Pizza”. Each of our activities nurture healthy relationships throughout the year. At this time Camp Opportunity is staffed completely by volunteers. Mid-year activities are focused on affirming the worth, the capabilities of each camper and to provide opportunities for new experiences and joyful engagements. We have volunteers who provide transportation to and from the residential camp and to and from our mid-year activities. Our residential camp is presently located at the Hashawha Environmental Center near Westminster, MD.

HOME VISITATIONS To reinforce and sustain the emotional foundation established during camp, our program director attempts to visit each camper’s home to help their families identify and connect with services and organizations in the local community that are focused on the well-being and enrichment of children.

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IN THE FUTURE

Every year, there are thousands of children in Maryland who are suf- fering abuse and/or neglect. We feel compelled to step up to the task of serving each and every one of them in some fashion. Whether we can offer them the full program we currently provide, or if it is some- thing other than that, we intend to work toward the condition where each child who is the victim of abuse or neglect or (in many cases) both – can find value in our organization. This goal is a big one, but we are diligently working to find a path to a fuller, more robust level of success. Our five-year strategic plan calls us to serve at least 150 children by the year 2020. With our “one-to-one” ratio of campers to staff, this will require better connections with the public, significant fundraising and a great deal of effort. Although we have proudly been a volunteer-run organization for more than 30 years, we recognize we will need a dedicated staff in order to triple our capacity. Therefore, we are seeking a funding source to allow Camp Opportunity to pay a full time Executive Director. We will also need an Executive Assistant to coordinate follow up, schedule meetings and interviews, and facilitate the interactions between our staff of volunteers, as well as with the Departments of Social Services in Baltimore and the surrounding counties. Finally, it is clear to us that a dedicated campground is in our future. With the large numbers of children in need of Camp Opportunity, and the “scale” of addressing such a large number of programs and campers, we hope soon to find a property that can be offered to us and dedicated to camps all summer long for abused and neglected children. This will, or course, require a full time summer staff, with new groups of children coming and going each week of the summer.

We have a lot of work to do, and we are seek- ing support from all available sources to move toward serving ALL children who are abused and neglected in Maryland. All of the above increases are necessary if we are to succeed at our mission to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect in Maryland. This goal is a big one, but we are diligently working to find a path to a fuller, more robust level of success. “

“

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WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

We have a knowledgeable and well-connected board of directors who are focused on governance and fundraising, a solid core of volunteers who have executed our program for over 30 years, but our executive team — who must lead and transform the organization — must grow to meet the needs of more children.

JOIN THE BOARD If you would like to help Camp Opportunity gain the resources it needs to continue and expand its mission, please consider becoming a member of the Board. Reach out to Roger and the board at board@ campopportunity.org . JOIN THE EXECUTIVE TEAM Our volunteers have been heroically carrying the organization year af- ter year. The Executive Team empowers them to build the organization of their dreams to serve the abused and neglected children of Mary- land. We need to grow our organization to support our volunteers and a capacity to serve the children of Maryland will have enduring and consequential benefits to our community. Reach out to the executive team at team@campopportunity.org . VOLUNTEER AT CAMP! Volunteers are the most important part of the Camp Opportunity program. One of our greatest accomplishments is that our camp is staffed exclusively by unpaid volunteers that are so dedicated to the cause that they willingly give up a great deal of their time to mentor and support the children. Without these dedicated people who volun- teer their time, many children who would greatly benefit from Camp Opportunity’s programs, would miss out on the valuable lessons and life experiences that our summer camp and other interim events offer. For many campers, Camp Opportunity is their first vacation away from home, and the memories that they develop will last forever. We take pride in the fact that our volunteers represent a great variety of ages, races, ethnicities, creed, political affiliations, and sexual orientations.

“

The one-on-one mentorship

really made a dramatic

difference in my child. He has

difficulties with relationships

and tends to be withdrawn -

I was afraid he wouldn’t be

able to bond with anyone at

camp. All he could talk about

when he arrived home was his

amazing counselor and how

he couldn’t wait to see him

again. I couldn’t believe the

improvement I saw in him!

“

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AS A VOLUNTEER DRIVER We provide transportation for every camper to and from every Camp Opportunity event with the help of people willing to offer their time and chauffeur services. Drivers are needed 4 days out of the year.

AS A CAMP COUNSELOR As a camp counselor, you are assigned one camper. All counselors are expected to remain with their camper at all times, and camper- counselor pairs generally function as a “team”. You would be required to remain at the camp for the duration of the week. To volunteer, you must be at least 16 years old. Volunteer counselors undergo rigorous screening. Volunteers under the age of 18 must re- ceive parental/guardian permission to attend. It is Camp Opportunity’s policy to provide equal opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual preference, age, or disability. In addition to helping an at-risk child who grows and matures through the camp program, many counselors develop long-lasting friendships with other counselors that continue long after the week of camp ends. Many counselors return year after year, and find that the week of camp is almost as rewarding for them as it is for their camper

GET INVOLVED WITH CAMP PLANNING

One week of summer camp requires months of intense planning and prepping by a strong team of diverse people. We hold planning meetings all year long leading up to the week of camp. Many tasks are assigned and various committees are formed to develop plans for the theme of each year’s camp, scheduling, activity planning, and purchasing.

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WHERE MONEY GOES

One of our greatest accomplishments is that our camp is staffed exclusively by unpaid volunteers that are so dedicated to the cause that they willingly give up a great deal of their time to mentor and support the children. “ “

FUNDRAISING (23%)

CAMP OPPORTUNITY PROGRAMS (54%)

INTERIM ACTIVITIES (13%)

OPERATING EXPENSES (10%)

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OUR SUPPORTERS & FUNDERS

Amazon Smile America’s Charities A.S. Midway Trailways Associated Italian American Charities Baltimore Community Foundation Fresh Air Society Bob Davidson Ford Lincoln

Merritt Companies Perry Hall Insurance Brokers Phillips 66 Pottery Cove State of Maryland Thai McGreivy Memorial Fund The Merck Foundation United Way of Central Maryland Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund

B. Von Paris & Sons, Inc Campbell & Company

Combined Charity Campaign Combined Federal Campaign Domenic Petrucci Contractors, Inc. First Giving Homestead Gardens

Hope and Peace Foundation Maryland Charity Campaign

CORPORATE DONATIONS (18%)

FOUNDATION SUPPORT (33%)

GRANTS (8%)

UNITED WAY (3%)

ANNUAL FUNDRAISER (19%)

INDIVIDUALS & OTHER (19%)

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ANNUAL REPORT 2017 Camp Opportunity

BREAKING THE CYCLE OF CHILD ABUSE - ONE CHILD AT A TIME

TAX EXEMPT EID # 52-1888794

17 SEVEN SPRINGS COURT, PHOENIX, MD 21131 443-879-9878 CAMPOPPORTUNITY.ORG