It’s hard to believe we just wrapped up our 10th annual Outdoor Leadership Program, Camp Vohokase. This four year program is designed to teach young men to be ‘R.E.A.L.’ (responsible, ethical, accountable, leaders), and is considered the cornerstone of the work we do through the Light Foundation.

Our Facility

Each summer 16 young men from around the country travel to Chenoweth Trails in Darke County, OH. This incredible place is the official home of the Light Foundation, and a working farm where our family lives each summer. When we started Camp Vohokase our facility consisted of two canvas tents and a small grill. We had no running water or electricity. To say we were roughing it would be an understatement.

Over the last decade we’ve managed to morph into the vision Matt had for this place back when we started the foundation in 2002. Where everyone else saw cornfields and woods, Matt saw the perfect setting for young people to learn and grow in the great outdoors.

Please check out my Camp Vohokase 2016 Recap post to learn more about our facility and staff.

Our Campers

Camp Vohokase is typically made up of 4 incoming Freshmen, 4 Sophomores, 4 Juniors, and 4 Seniors. Each group has been carefully selected from different parts of the country; typically a place which Matt and I have some personal connection. This year we have kids from Darke County, OH, New Bedford and Gloucester, MA, and my hometown, Hammond, IN.

Truth be told, I’m already dreading graduation day for my hometown class three years from now (and yes, I’m completely biased).

All 16 campers are assigned to one of two yurts; the East Yurt and West Yurt. The two yurts compete in various contests throughout camp. Certain activities such as go-carting, a robotics challenge, and a pizza making competition are used to determine who will win the sacred ‘Yurt Contest’. The eight winners receive a swag bag and gift cards on the last day of camp.

The why of Camp Vohokase…

The current social climate in our country has produced an ongoing ‘war of words‘ in the media and entertainment industry. The result has been an overwhelming flood of insincere information geared toward young people. Every day they are bombarded with messaging aimed at creating negative ideas about who they are, and what they’re capable of based on their circumstances.

Personally speaking, I believe that, while certainly a factor, circumstance has far less to do with one’s capability, than many other factors. I’m speaking from experience. There is no doubt that growing up in a city like Hammond, as opposed to a place with well funded public schools and a general sense of community safety, has many disadvantages. This is true across the country; I have experienced both ends of the spectrum and am well aware that all things are not equal for Americans when speaking in these terms.

However, the truth is, the young people we work with through the foundation (and others just like them) are fully capable of achieving great things in their lives. Will some kids have to overcome more obstacles than others? Yes. Will they need to work harder? Jump through more hoops? Of course. But aren’t these the things that build the kind of character necessary for our future leaders? Personally, I can see the long term advantages for someone who has to bust through doors, as opposed to someone who constantly has the door held open for them.

So, what can we do about it?

Matt and I firmly believe there are a few essential factors that will help young people realize their potential, regardless of individual circumstances.

• Kids need to know someone believes in them, in order to believe in themselves. It’s absolutely remarkable watching what happens when a child comes to the simple realization that they are capable of great things. The media seems to be on a mission to convince young people that the world is against them, so finding reasons why they can’t achieve things in their lives is easy to do. The powerful truth is, the majority of people in this country want to see our youth succeed; despite who they are, what they look like, or where they come from. Camp Vohokase, for example, wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the generosity of thousands of people across the country who also believe in our youth.
• Kids need to be willing to take full advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. Since such opportunities may be limited for many young people, being able to recognize when a door has been opened for them is a key factor in their success.
• One of our Junior Counselors and former graduates, Nicholas Vincent, had a simple but crucial message for our campers this year: “Your choices matter”. Everyone must assume a certain level of personal responsibility for their actions. Each choice you make (good or bad) will have an impact on your future. No excuses.

The what of Camp Vohokase…

…and they think we’re just fishing.

In camp we are constantly asking these guys to step outside of their comfort zone by trying new things they may not otherwise be exposed to back home. As an outdoorsman, Matt has always believed the outdoors is the best classroom for tremendous learning and growth.

Some of the activities we did in camp this year include dirt biking, paintball, horseback riding, a robotics course, fishing, range shooting, and volunteering at the Dayton Children’s Hospital. Each of these activities are a blast, but more importantly present unique learning opportunities in the process.

Here is a look at some of this years activities:

Dirt Biking  

We’re fortunate to have some experienced riders on staff at Chenoweth Trails who make this experience possible during camp.

Swimming 

The majority of camp is pretty structured, so time at the pond is a great way for everyone to kick back and relax.

Fishing

Matt’s dad, “Professor Bill”, taught the guys how to engineer their own fishing poles that were later used in a fishing competition on the last day of camp.

Can you believe he reeled that beast in himself?

Pizza Competition

This event has been a favorite among both campers and staff since Chicago Pizza Oven donated our authentic wood burning oven several years ago.

I think he’s impressed…

Robotics Course and Competition

We were really excited to have a robotics team from Southern Indiana come down to teach the kids how to build underwater robots this year. After spending a few hours learning about and building our aquatic bots, we got to test them out in a friend’s swimming pool. It was pretty incredible!

Horseback Riding

This was another new activity for us this year, and a personal favorite for me as a spectator. We’re so thankful to our sweet friends, Emily and Jay Hartman, for opening up their beautiful home and horse farm to our camp. They did an amazing job organizing this event, and we truly enjoyed every minute of it!

Dayton’s Children’s Hospital

Each year we spend a day giving back to the local community here in Darke County. In years past we’ve played bingo with residents at a retirement home, built a water feature in the Greenville City Park, and helped out with games at a local carnival. This year we started what we hope will become a long tradition of visiting the Dayton Children’s Hospital. While there we visited patient’s rooms, hosted two face-painting and tattoo booths, and helped out with some general maintenance inside and outside the hospital.

I just have to stop and say that this is my absolute favorite picture from all of camp. Milton painted a pretty cool spider for this little girl, and her smile was worth the entire trip!

Brian Fox

It was an absolute honor to have our friend Brian Fox in camp with us for the first time. Not only is he one of the most talented and highly regarded artist in the industry today, Brian has helped raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Light Foundation.

Career Tour

This year we visited the Union City, IN Police and Fire Departments. This was probably the most challenging of all the career trips we’ve ever taken, but it was really cool to get a look into what kind of rigorous training our first responders have to endure in order to protect and serve.

Low Ropes Course

Since the early years of Camp Vohokase we’ve been attending a high ropes course at nearby Camp Yale. This year we’ve begun the process of adding our own course to Chenoweth Trails. These activities are designed to help our campers problem solve while working together to achieve a common goal.

Here they are given the task of balancing this enormous teeter-totter. It’s a lot harder than it looks!

Below the boys have just managed to fit their entire team onto this tiny platform. What the picture doesn’t show is that each of them had to swing onto it using a rope swing… without knocking the rest of the group off! It was quite comical.

This final challenge involved moving a golf ball from one location to another using a series of tracks. Again, it looks like a pice of cake… until you have to do it.

The Class of 2018

Graduation night is such a bittersweet celebration for everyone at camp. For 4 years we’ve watched our seniors change and grow in so many ways, so thinking about them not being there the following year is pretty tough. The Class of 2018 is from right here in Darke County. OH.

Behind the Scenes

Camp Vohokase wouldn’t be possible without our incredible staff!  All they do behind the scenes, from preparing meals to making 4 hour round trip car rides to and from the airport, help make Camp Vohokase a success. Matt and I are so grateful to have such an amazing group of family and friends, and it’s an honor to work alongside them each summer.

A few bonus shots from 2018…

I hope you enjoyed a look into Camp Vohokase 2018, as much as I enjoyed documenting it.

Until next year….