Camp Wildcat is a non-profit youth organization based in Tucson, Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

 which has served local disadvantaged youth since 1965. The organization is entirely operated by college students and is a recognized club at The University of Arizona

University of Arizona

The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...

.

Overview

Camp Wildcat events are all themed in a way to portray higher education and general success as attainable goals for the disadvantaged youth who participate in the programs.

Camps and other events

Some examples of the dozens of cost-free events produced and staffed by Camp Wildcat each year for local disadvantaged youth:

• Camping and hiking at the Grand Canyon
  Grand Canyon
  The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
  
  
• Camping and hiking on Mount Lemmon
  Mount Lemmon
  Mount Lemmon is in the Santa Catalina Mountains located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. It is above sea-level, and receives approximately 180 inches of snow annually. Mount Lemmon was named in honor of botanist Sarah Lemmon, who trekked to the top of...
  
   and at other campsites around southern Arizona
• Indoor mock-camp with UMC pediatric patients
• Camps to help children discover other societies and cultures, new hobbies and career paths
• Activities with the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind
• Reunion picnics with former campers

Campers

The participants in Camp Wildcat's activities come from different places. For example:

• Schools with a high percentage of students in the National School Lunch Program
• Pediatrics units at Tucson hospitals
• Women’s and children’s shelters
• Centers for children with physical and mental disabilities
• Local Boys & Girls Clubs

Financial support

With no paid staff, Camp Wildcat operates on a very small budget. The college students who run Camp Wildcat coordinate many fundraising activities each year. The major sources of funding are:

• Private, tax-deductible donations
• Corporate Sponsorships
• Annual benefit auction
• Annual benefit concert
• ASUA funding
• Corporate product donations
• Grants
• Concessions stands at U of A basketball and football games

Primary expenses are campsite fees, insurance, and transportation (most food and equipment are donated; staff is volunteer).

History

Camp Wildcat was founded in 1965 by Richard Shogren. A U of A graduate student in urban planning, Shogren came to the University of Arizona from the University of California at Berkeley in the fall of 1964. He had been very involved at Berkeley's "Cal Camp" and decided that Arizona needed a similar program. The Student Senate's backing was obtained in the spring of 1965.

More Camp Wildcat history is available from the Camp Wildcat official website: http://campwildcat.org/history.

Facts about Camp Wildcat

• In 1969, Camp Wildcat started a fundraising carnival called The Rites of Spring. This evolved over the years into what is now Spring Fling, the largest student-run carnival in the United States.
• Several people who participated in Camp Wildcat as a camper have gone on to attend the University of Arizona and joined Camp Wildcat as a counselor.
• Camp Wildcat's student membership ranges from about 150-250 active members per semester.
• Camp Wildcat has over 4,000 alumni counselors, about 1,000 of which are members of the alumni organization, Friends of Camp Wildcat which was started in 2006-2007.