Friends of Paha

History

Friends of Paha was started to help financially support Camp Paha. When Camp Paha originally began in the early 80's it was significantly subsidized by the City of Lakewood. As the financial abilities of the city changed, they were no longer able to support the camp as significantly. The camp became an enterprise program, which had to break even through camper fees. The cost of camp began to rise considerably faster than parents could keep up with. We did some small grant writing but received only minimal contributions. It became apparent that for Camp Paha to continue providing outstanding services to campers with disabilities we would need an organization committed to fundraising for the camp, the campers and their families. Friends of Paha became that organization.

Friends of Paha (FOP) was founded by a caring group of parents, grandparents and community members associated with Camp Paha. They recognized the need for quality programming for children and young adults with disabilities and the need for it to be affordable, even for low income families. This group came together in May of 2002 to begin this fundraising organization and scholarship opportunity for Camp Paha. FOP was officially incorporated in February 2003. During our first year of operation the Lakewood Legacy Foundation served as our fiscal sponsor and mentor until we became our own non-profit organization. We received our 501(c)3 IRS Determination Letter in May 2003. Our first community fundraiser, in December of 2003, raised approximately $3,000 through individual donations. Overall, our first year was better than we had hoped, raising approximately $23,000 for Camp Paha.

In 2011 we awarded $10,000 in camperships and $40,000 in Camp Paha operational support. Since inception we have awarded $63,000 in camperships to help individual campers pay camp fees and more than $340,000 to the City of Lakewood to support camp operations.