Match challenge for Trailways rebranded
A fundraiser to support adults with special needs has been updated after hitting its goal early.
On April 18, Grampy’s Charities announced the Grampy’s Match Challenge at Trailways Camps’ annual “I Am Special” Camper Reunion & Birth Day Party, which will add more camping experiences for campers. Donations to Trailways to July 5 would be matched dollar for dollar up to $100,000.
Trailways Camps Vice President Sharon Miller explained that the campaign is focused on offering additional camps for returnees, campers who have already been and would like to attend again.
She continued that the organization’s policy on priority goes to new applicants to give everyone a chance to take part, with a few seats in each camp reserved for returnees based on longest wait time.
With the number of new applicants constantly growing, the wait time for returnees also grows.
“We’re now at five or six years for people waiting to come back. So it’s providing more camp experience opportunities for returnees, so they can come back,” Miller said of the funding raised.
Before the campaign end date was even reached, generous donors had met the $100,000 mark.
“We hit the goal this past week — and exceeded it by a few thousand dollars,” she said on June 25.
The donation amounts were big and small, with one past camper even contributing $10 a month.
“We just want to thank all the people who made that match possible,” Miller said.
With so much time still left in the campaign, Trailways and Grampy’s Charities got together and decided to try to identify a second match sponsor for contributions made above the $100,000.
She reported that an anonymous sponsor stepped up.
“We have rebranded it to The Giving Campaign for funds raised over the $100,000,” Miller said.
The updated fundraiser works the same, with the same deadline for donations of July 5.
“They will match dollar for dollar,” she said.
Miller expressed appreciation for Grampy’s Charities and the second match sponsor.
“We are so grateful to Grampy’s Charities for their generosity,” she said, noting that the anonymous sponsor has a heart for their mission. “We’re very grateful for that heart and the willingness to step up.”
The community is invited to contribute any amount.
“This is a campaign that’s for everybody,” Miller said. “Adults with special needs are the largest underserved population group in the country and that means here in Southwest Florida, too.”
She noted that once they leave the education system, there are very few resources available to them. In addition, their family and caregivers are providing long-term care, with no opportunities for respite.
“We’re in a community that includes these people,” Miller said. “We would appreciate very much the generosity, to be able to continue to support them.”
To donate, visit https://www.trailwayscamps.org/give/.
Checks can also be mailed to Trailways Camps Inc., Attn: Gerald/Sharon Miller, 3502 Harbor Court, Fort Myers, FL 33908, or stop by the Trailways Camps office, at 1177 Causeway Blvd., Sanibel.
For more information, visit online or contact Executive Director Jamie Senkeleski at Jamie@trailwayscamps.org or 941-564-9861.