Today Is: Dream Bigger Day

“You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.” – unknown

“God gave me talents as a gift to me. My gift to him is to use those talents to his glory.” – Lori Neal

Have you ever had a dream that you though to yourself this will be nothing more than just a dream? Have you ever thought about that dream so much that you literally started to dream about it at night? Have you ever shared that dream with someone and they looked at you with that look that says, “Only in your dreams!” Have you ever been afraid to share your dreams because what happens if that dream never comes true? What happens if you chase after that dream and you fail? Have you ever had a dream that you know is your dream for a reason? Have you ever wondered what could I do with my one precious life that would make a difference in this world? Have you ever dreamed so big that the dream didn’t even feel like it was your dream? Me too and this dream that I share with you below is all of that in one… This is the dream of CAMP HOPE.

Well this is it, you’re reading it first, and I’m declaring one of my ultimate dreams… To open up a camp for teens of all ages and backgrounds, races and religions, that teaches them about the essentials in life. I want to have a camp that provides teenagers with life lessons and shows them that there is more to life than what many of them may know. Like I said, the camp would be open to all teens, but my vision is teenagers of low income or just teenagers that need to see that there is a better life out there. That life is supposed to be enjoyed and filled with love. I hope to one day open a camp that teaches self confidence, self respect, volunteering and giving of ourselves, a camp that teaches about money, not the importance of astronomical amounts but the importance of how to save, taxes, etc… I want these children to learn about leadership, and commitment and standing up for what they believe in. I want them to learn from greats like Martin Luther King, Ghandi, Jackie Robinson, Oprah, Blake Mycoskie and many more. I want the camp to feature all types of different activities that will allow these teens to explore their own drive and purpose such as, photography, creative writing, sciences, sculpting, math, drawing/painting, exercise… I want this to be a place that teenagers come to not only learn about how to live their lives but how to give of their lives too. Each student would have a mentor and the mentors would be someone older than themselves, for the oldest students they would get members of the staff. The mentors would be with their mentees through their entire time in camp until their mentee graduated. It would be a glorified LINKS program. I would love to have the camp in association with multiple different organizations so that we could have an internship program for the students to be associated with. Students could volunteer as interns at organizations to determine if they wanted to pursue careers in the given fields before they committed to degrees in college. Each student of the camp would also be responsible for supporting a child financially from another country by performing chores around the campus. Each student would also be required to have “X” amount of community service hours at an organization of their choice. The schools principles would revolve around the meaning of giving and living a life of service along with joy, happiness, and love!

Camp Hope would be the start of “No Strings Attached” the sports program that would work with other high schools in their sports programs by helping to provide efficient sporting equipment and support for their sports teams. “No Strings Attached” would allow other high schools to attend practices with students at Camp Hope and would require that students from both Camp Hope and adjoining high schools attend each other’s games and events.

The first graduating class of Camp Hope will be in 2024, with all 118 students graduating and attending college.

For some of you as you read this you may think, ‘Oh that’s just a dream!’ Or maybe, ‘That’s impossible.’ And for some of you, you may read this and think that dream is so big that you cannot even fully grasp the concept right now. Believe me I understand, but I challenge those of you who doubt my dream or those of you who think that my dream is too BIG, to dream BIGger for yourself, no matter how impossible it may seem because if you want it bad enough you will find a way to make it happen. God turns “That’s impossible.” Into “It’s not only possible, it’s done!”

“If you are called, God will make a way. Either where you are or through a change of circumstances. Follow your lover, respond to his invitations. With him there is no stopping you.” – John & Stasi Eldridge “Captivating”

“Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. DON’T MAKE MONEY YOUR GOAL! Instead pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.” – Maya Angelou