PDF
May 24, 2017

KOA NEWS SERVICE (May 22, 2017) – Kampgrounds of America’s annual Care Camps Big Weekend set a new camper attendance record May 12-13, drawing about 4 percent more camping families than the event brought to participating KOAs in 2016.

The Care Camps Big Weekend, now in its 14th year, is a major fundraising event for KOA Care Camps, a network of 128 specialized, weeklong summer camps for children battling cancer and their siblings.

Campers who stayed as paying guests at the 400 participating KOAs on Friday, May 12 received a night of camping on Saturday, May 13 for just $10. KOA Care Camps receives all of the fees collected on Saturday, May 13. The funds help provide the Care Camps experience to deserving children free of charge each summer.

About 11,800 camping families stayed at participating KOAs during the May 12-13 event this year, compared to the previous record of 11,040 families in 2016. A total of 10,761 families participated during the annual event in 1015.

“It’s gratifying to see that our campers want to take part in helping these children in need, and helped raise nearly $118,000 in a single weekend to help send as many children as possible to these wonderful camps,” said KOA President and CEO Pat Hittmeier. The cost to send each child to a Care Camp is nearly $2,000, so KOA and its campground owners raise funds throughout the year to help the charity, including through charity auctions, barbecues and pancake breakfasts. “The need never stops, and neither do our great KOA owners and their staffs,” Hittmeier said. “it is a wonderful charity and a great cause.”

Last year, the KOA Care Camps Trust raised nearly $1.4 million that was distributed to member Care Camps throughout North America. Find out more about KOA Care Camps, or make a donation today at http://www.koacarecamps.org.

 

Kampgrounds of America is celebrating its 55th Anniversary in 2017. KOA, the world’s largest network of family-friendly campgrounds with more than 500 locations in North America, was born on the banks of the Yellowstone River in Billings, Montana in 1962. For more information, go to www.KOA.com or visit the KOA Pressroom at www.koapressroom.com.