On March 30, 2015, Camp K presented “Peter Pan” at Midvale Main Street Theatre. Thank you to all who came out for our performance!
Our participants worked hard for eight weeks to prepare for their big debut! They learned their lines, and how to act out each character. We loved watching their confidence grow week after week as they prepared for their individual roles.
Our cast members were amazing and put on the best show Camp K has seen yet! We are so proud of their performance! We had a great turn out, with an audience of over 200 people!
A successful production requires a lot of work, and coordination of many people. We couldn’t be happier with how the play turned out! We would like to give a special Thank You to the following people:
We look forward to next year’s production!
More pictures from our production can be found on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CampKostopulos
Our 27th annual “Send A Kid To Camp” Gala is on Friday, May 1st, 2015, at the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek. This is our largest fundraising event of the year.
All proceeds from this event will directly benefit our year-round recreation programs and activities for youth and adults with physical and cognitive disabilities, and children with special medical needs.
Continuing our tradition, we will be celebrating the contributions made on behalf of children in our communities by honoring Sorenson Legacy Foundation and the Sorenson family with our sixth Children’s Humanitarian Award. Due to their generosity, Camp K is able to offer our Equestrian services year-round at the Sorenson Legacy Foundation Equestrian Park which was dedicated 2 years ago.
More information: www.campk.org/gala.
Each year, Utah Business magazine honors 40 of the state’s most talented, ambitious and innovative business leaders in our annual Forty Under 40 program. Some are serial entrepreneurs, others are leading established companies to continued success, and more still are helping their companies reach unprecedented growth. Regardless of their positions within their companies, the 2015 Forty Under 40 exemplify a group of standout leaders who are shaping the future of Utah and the world. Join us in celebrating these deserving honorees and their accomplishments.
Our President and CEO, Mircea Divricean, is honored to be included in this prestigious list. 
Mircea Divricean never intended to devote his career to the nonprofit world. But while studying business administration, he spent a summer working as a camp counselor at Kostopulos Dream Foundation and became passionate about the nonprofit’s mission. He joined the organization full time in 2001, became CFO in 2003 and was named executive director in 2013. Under his leadership, the camp’s balance sheet value has grown from $1 million to $3.3 million. Revenue was less than $500,000 per year and is now $1.3 million. Additionally, Divricean oversaw a successful $2 million capital campaign to build its Sorenson Legacy Foundation Equestrian Park, which opened in 2014. Also in 2014, Divricean was the first to be admitted and graduate from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program representing a charity.
“Mircea could find success (and make more money) in the private sector, but instead he is dedicating his career to the nonprofit world—specifically to helping provide meaningful educational and recreational opportunities for the disabled population,” says Layne Smith, partner at Dorsey & Whitney and vice chair of the Kostopulos Dream Foundation’s board.
“The more successful we are, the more impact we have on our participants and their families and their individual lives—that translates into greater positive impact on our community.”
Spring has come early to the Barn! Our horses have been enjoying the spring weather by treating themselves to frequent mud baths! They are also enjoying a change of scenery by venturing out on some of the trails we have here at Camp K.
Our Thursday night Horseback Riding program is starting again in March. This program runs every Thursday in March, from 7-9 pm. Space is filling up fast, so if you are interested, click here for the registration form.
For more information about our Equestrian Programs: https://www.campk.org/equestrian
Come join Camp K for a 4 day, 3 night retreat to Lava Hot Springs and the Majestic Teton Mountains in Jackson Hole!
We will spend time soaking in the warm and relaxing natural mineral at Lava Hot Springs. These hot springs are beautiful and warm! We will take a gander at one of the largest geysers in the world at Soda Springs.
In Jackson Hole, we will stay at the 4-star Lodge at Jackson Hole. Our time here will be filled with fun as we visit the National Elk Refuge, admire beauty from the Jackson Hole gondola, visit Teton National Park, walk around the Historic Jackson Hole Town Square, and enjoy many more activities.
Space is limited – Register early. Click here for the registration form.
Choose from 3 Summer Camp programs:
With our summer camp season coming so fast, we are excited to have been awarded our 4th consecutive Safety 1st award for 2014. The award is based on our proven safety record and superior commitment to safety.
As we are gearing up for Summer Camp, we will be hiring over 40 dedicated staff in the next couple of months. Jobs include camp coordinators, camp counselors, group leaders, lifeguards, cooks, nurses, and support staff. If you know anybody who is interested in a summer job, working in an environment where they will have the opportunity to change lives and make a difference in our community, please send them to this link: https://www.campk.org/about/employment/
Camp K is accredited by the American Camp Association (ACA). I recently attended the ACA National Conference, hosted this year in New Orleans. Attendees from all parts of the country and from around the world got together to learn, discuss trends, network, and get involved in order to make a difference in their communities by bringing more children, youth and adults to camp. We learned about the ACA’s 20/20 vision: to have 20 million children, youth and adults annually enjoy a camping experience by the year 2020. We learned a lot about the role of camp in children’s lives, we learned how children’s first independent experience outside of the family is most likely at camp. We learned a lot about leadership, social impact, social innovation, social entrepreneurship, and how camps are becoming more and more a social educational environment for children in the high tech environment of today.
The world needs the next generation to be more tolerant of each other’s views, ideology, and beliefs. Summer camp is an opportunity for children to be exposed to the best of human character. Carefully selected role models are dedicated to showing your children how to have fun, learn from others, and make friends in person, rather than online. Camp allows kids to meet people with different abilities, from different places, different races, cultures, and socioeconomic levels. The world is full of excuses. It doesn’t matter where you come from, or what has happened to you. At the end of the day you choose how you treat others. There is something magical about a summer camp experience. Camp is an independent experience that shapes one’s character and life – a controlled, safe environment where children and youth are able to make their own decisions about simple things (what activity they want to do, how many s’mores they want to make, or what clothes they are going to wear) and about important things (who they will hang out with … who will be their friends). Camp is a place where kids interact with people face-to-face, at the same time learn about themselves and others around a camp fire, under the stars, or sitting around a dining hall table. Camp is a place where children find a world filled with possibilities unavailable to them in everyday life, they can go from fantasy to reality. Camp gives kids a chance to practice being the best they can be. They experience a place designed to create happy memories and encourage self-expression. They have the opportunity to climb towers, ride horses, paddle canoes, and even experience success of winning the “survivor” game! It stays with them forever. Kids will learn a full range of emotions and human experiences including homesickness, friendship, disagreements, team work, frustrations, jubilant success and more.
One of Key Note Speakers was Jessica Lahey, a renowned writer, teacher, and speaker. She told us that, as parents, our hopes and jobs are to ready the kids to be proactive, independent, and capable people – to prepare them to thrive without us. Camp offers a way for kids to start developing those skills in the best possible environment. She also told us that TRUST is very important. If you base your relationship with your children on TRUST, amazing things will happen. Yesterday I was at a training taught by Rick Eigenbrod, a Google executive’s personal coach. He said that you should base your relationship with your employees on TRUST; he said you have to trust your employees to make all kinds of decisions; this is the only way they will be able to grow. It sounds very similar – the way you should treat your children as a parent should be the way a leader treats his team. Allow them to make decisions, good or bad; it is the only way to grow. If ever there was a time when the world needed a generation of future leaders who understood the intricacies of living in a community, having tolerance and being open – that time is now. Camp is a gift that we can give to our children that they will benefit from and remember forever.
“Together we dream, together we do.”
Mircea Divricean
We are pleased to introduce our new Equestrian Program Coordinator, Taylor Timmerman.
Taylor graduated from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 2012, with a degree in Political Science and Environmental Studies. She has worked with horses since she 8 years old, participating in Equestrian events. While in college, she was on the Equestrian team at UNC. She also spent 5 years working at a camp in Western North Carolina, as a riding instructor and barn manager.
Taylor moved to Utah in 2013, and has worked as the Sustainability Educator for the Utah State University Botanical Center.
Taylor is excited to work at Camp K, and is looking forward to taking the program to new heights while maintaining a safe, fun, and educational program.
For more information about our Equestrian Programs: https://www.campk.org/equestrian
Kostopulos Dream Foundation is pleased to announce a new educational program: Mission Possible. This program is focused on increasing skills for independence, in a fun environment! We will help our participants discover their abilities – and help them make independence Possible.
Each month, we will offer a new Mission. Each week, we will host activities to teach new skills using recreation and leisure education.
In January, our Mission is communication, customer service, and social skills. February’s Mission is to increase attention span, follow prompts and directions, and accomplish tasks. March’s Mission is Money Management. April’s Mission is Food Handling.
With this program, we are furthering our mission of improving the quality of life of people with disabilities through education and growth opportunities. We believe that by focusing on each individual’s abilities, our participants will be able to enjoy full, successful lives, and be active contributors in our community.
At Camp K we are very dedicated to bring the best possible programs to improve the overall success of our community.
For more information: https://www.campk.org/programs/specialty-programs/
Happy New Year! The beginning of the year brings with it the inherent feeling of a fresh start. It’s both retrospective and hopeful, all in one! As we reflect on our accomplishments from last year, it is important to celebrate and gain momentum from the successes of last year to inspire us for the year ahead.
Camp K is accredited by the American Camping Association (ACA). Last week, I attended the ACA Leadership Summit in Phoenix. We were reminded of the ACA’s vision: Enriching Lives – Changing the World. The ACA theme for this year is: Imagine, Inspire, Impact. The alliteration reminds us of how important the “I” is when it comes to camp. We talk about the importance of community and the ability to come together as a group and make things happen. But the truth is, without the talents and drive of each individual involved, camp wouldn’t be the life-changing experience that it is.
We are looking forward to a successful 2015 Summer Camp, and we are already working diligently to plan for this summer. The success of our Summer Camp relies on the support of our community in making our 2015 Send-A-Kid-To-Camp Gala a success. We provide many scholarships through-out the summer and every single camper receives financial support in order to attend camp. Please mark your calendars for our Gala which will be held on May 1st. More information is available at: www.campk.org/special-events.
I look forward to seeing you there!
“Together we dream, together we do.”
Mircea Divricean
On Tuesday, December 2, Bextr celebrated their launch party in conjunction with Giving Tuesday – with all proceeds of the event benefitting Camp K. The party was hosted at Lumpys Downtown.
Mike Divricean, Nectarios Karahalios, Michael Plant, Mircea Divricean
All who attended the party had a great time, enjoying music, food, and drinks. The new digital innovations of Bexter were displayed on screens throughout the venue.
Thank you to everyone who supported this event! Our sponsors were: Platinum – Arches Health Plan, Gold – Stonebridge Golf Course, and Silver – Interform and the Utah Jazz.
Kostopulos Dream Foundation was honored to receive the Pass it Along award from the Utah Jazz and Mountain America Credit Union. This award was presented at the Jazz vs Chicago Bulls game on November 24. We had many of our campers and their families in the audience that night.
Marshall Paepke, Derrick Favors, Mircea Divricean, John Miller, Mike Divricean
We thank the community for voting for Camp K, and for the generosity of the Utah Jazz and MACU. This donation will be used to support our programs here at Camp K.
At this festive time of the year, we pause to reflect on 2014. We are grateful for another great year! We would like to thank all of our campers and their families for inspiring us to continue the mission here at Camp K.
We would also like to thank everyone who supports our dream – we are successful because of the support of our community. We are grateful to the individuals and organizations who provide their support to Camp K. We couldn’t do what we do without your help!
We wish you a safe and happy holiday season to you and your families! Our team is looking forward to another amazing year here at Camp K!
“Together we dream, together we do.”
Mircea Divricean
The Disability Law Center recognized Camp K as a “Champion of Inclusion” at their annual Community Justice Awards Gala on Saturday, November 8. Celina Jensen, one of our campers, attended the award ceremony, and is pictured above with Mircea.
Representative Ronda Menlove, Celina Jensen, Mircea Divricean
The Community Justice Awards are presented annually to individuals, organizations and employers whose contributions have advanced the lives and opportunities of people with disabilities or who have been selfless in serving the disability community in Utah. This year’s awards recognize organizations and individuals who have made our community more inclusive to Utahns with disabilities.
We are grateful to the Disability Law Center for the service that they provide to our community, and we are honored to receive this award.
The Day of Caring is spearheaded by the United Way, and is the community’s largest single-day volunteer event.