Our New Identity
In 1989 the John Austin Cheley Foundation was launched by friends of John Austin (Jack) Cheley to honor his legacy and help fulfill his dream of making the summer camp experience available to kids whose families could not otherwise afford it. We are excited about our new identity, but we are still the same organization at heart – founded to honor the vision of Jack Cheley and the dream that sparked A THOUSAND SUMMERS.
78%
program
re-engagement rate
$574,413
Campership value
awarded last year
30
years
developing youth
1,313
camperships
awarded
Testimonials
“The people, environment, and experiences of camp have instilled in me values and skills that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Thank you for truly changing my life.”
– Zahir G.,
3-time Campership recipient
“Having the opportunity to attend camp has really changed my life. I have gained valuable life skills that I know will go on to help me as I grow. Your support has made me into a better person and a better leader.”
– Krystal C.,
4-time Campership recipient
“The experience at camp helped Marcos to be more open minded to trying new things. He has grown in confidence and self esteem and this has helped him to seek out new activities and experiences.”
– Carlos M.,
father of Marcos, 1-time Campership recipient
“This is an unparalleled learning experience that can’t be replicated in a classroom or at home. For a child who struggles with low self esteem and anxiety, you have elicited a profound change that has the potential to catapult one towards an entirely new trajectory of hope!”
– Jamie N.,
mother of Cassidy, 4-time Campership recipient
“Camp has made me want to discover and learn new things and be curious.
I now believe that anything is possible if I put my mind to it.”
– E’Mari W.,
3-time Campership recipient
News & Events
We are pleased to share our Spring 2021 Newsletter featuring our Capstone Program as well as milestone anniversaries for some of our Associate Camps. ...
Each year, A Thousand Summers is honored to have some of our campers selected to prestigious leadership positions and programs at our associate camps....
A Thousand Summers works with incredible kids around the country who, as a result of their time at camp, are making a difference in their communities....
The kids in our Campership Program missed out on going to camp in 2020. For the past 12 months schools have focused largely on remote learning and man...
Why is your support needed more now than ever before? It’s simple… because we want to be able to provide a life-changing summer camp experience fo...
Entitled ‘A Year Unlike Any Other’ our latest Annual Report covering our July 2019 – June 2020 fiscal year has been published...
We are pleased to share our August 2020 edition of our monthly E-Newsletter which shares some of the highlights of our summer programming. Click here...
We are pleased to share our 30th Anniversary edition of our Newsletter featuring our first ever camper and our 1,000th camper. Click here to view the ...
