GREENVILLE – The Light Foundation, a nonprofit founded in 2001 by three-time Super Bowl champion and former New England Patriot Matt Light, will welcome four new campers from Hammond, Indiana, to its outdoor leadership camp – Camp Vohokase.
The 10-day outing will be held July 2 through July 11 on the foundation’s 400-plus acre facility, Chenoweth Trails, in Greenville.
Camp Vohokase is a four-year summer camp which takes 16 boys from “at-risk” areas across the country and brings them together to learn leadership, accountability, hard work and ethics. The Light Foundation team guides these young men throughout their entire high school career. When they complete the four years of camp, they graduate with the lessons they’ve learned and the skills they’ve acquired and will pay that experience forward by carrying on the torch of leadership within their own communities.
This year, the new group of campers are unique because they hail from Matt’s wife, Susie Light’s hometown of Hammond, Indiana.
“I’m personally overwhelmed by the kindness, character and sincere enthusiasm displayed by each of these young men,” Susie Light said.
These four individuals from Donald E Gavit Junior/Senior High School will be a great addition to campers who have come from across America – Ohio, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Indiana and Tennessee.
Newly announced Program Director Edgar Flores Mendez will welcome the campers into a program with the potential to change their life’s trajectory. Here, the boys are exposed to outdoor activities they likely don’t see in their hometowns – hunting, fishing, archery, paintball, dirt bike racing and ropes courses. They also participate in daily group workouts, career education tours, nightly “fireside chats” to discuss goals and expectations for the summer and their lives moving forward. The campers also engage in community service projects, which will include a trip to Children’s Hospital.
This year, nationally-renowned celebrity artist Brian Fox will bring a new dimension to camp with his creativity and life story. He will speak to the kids about his journey to a successful career doing what he loves while also nurturing their artist abilities with some cool activities. Another addition to this year’s programming is the introduction of a robotics team. The campers will experience robotics demonstrations all while learning some machine and engineering fundamentals.
Camp Vohokase is proud to graduate a class of four young men from Darke County this year.
“I’m so incredibly proud of this group of leaders and their dedication to our program. I have great confidence in their ability to take what they’ve learned and apply it to the world,” Matt Light said.
What began as a few tents in the woods has become a 400-plus acre facility with yurts, a turf field, cooking areas, gravel roads (in place of trails), a new amphitheater and just this year, a newly constructed welcome center that will help accommodate even more guests and programming.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the Light Foundation and making a difference is what it’s all about.
“We want to be a beacon for charitable organizations, athletes and youth,” Matt Light said, “to work hard, put their best foot forward, and strive to become champions in the game of life.”
For more information about Camp Vohokase, contact Brian Rehmert or April Brubaker at 937-316-6352.
