A brief history of Colvig Silver Camps and A Thousand Summers

In 2001, in an effort to increase funding for opportunities to offer camp to a broader economic range of families, we became one of a small group of associate camps with the non-profit John Austin Cheley Foundation. The JACF, a charitable 501 (c)(3) foundation that is now known as A Thousand Summers, was established in 1989 by a group of alumni from a like minded Colorado camp to send children to summer camp whose family resources are not adequate to cover the costs.

Their purpose matched ours – “Funding need-based camperships for high potential youth to attend extended-stay wilderness summer camps that have a proven track record of positively impacting youth development” – and we determined that this partnership would be the most effective way for us to achieve our goals. In addition to our status as an associate camp, we initiated the relationship with the establishment of The Craig I. Colvig Fund within the foundation, in honor of our late founder, to allow donors to direct donations to CSC campers. That first year we hosted two campers sponsored by that fund and the JACF general fund.

In the past 20 years our collective efforts have far surpassed our initial goals. In addition to our internal partial financial aid for 8-10 campers, we now average 15 campers a summer that are fully funded by the Foundation, the total surpassing 100 in 2019. 5 CSC alumni have served on the Foundation board. The CIC Fund grew to a full endowment level, funding one camper per year in perpetuity. Three other endowments for CSC campers were established in the same manner:

• The Reverdie and Jean Ater Memorial Campership, honoring alumni and former JACF board member, Alan Ater’s, late parents.
• The Robert Perkins Campership Fund, honoring the late Rob Perkins, a longtime camper and counselor at CSC.
• The Laura Naugle Sanborn and Mary Colvig Miller Campership, honoring, in succession, the two founders of Sanborn Western Camps and Colvig Silver Camps.
• The Director’s Fund was established in honor of Tom “Frosty” Frostman, Jim Colvig, and Cameron Colvig, all former directors of CSC, to serve as the general fund through which all individual donations are accounted for to apply to CSC campers.

We are grateful to everyone who has so graciously donated time and funding to this effort. There are campers out there making the world a better place because of you! We extend the invitation to everyone interested in becoming involved as we are reminded, daily, how critical a camp experience can be in human development. Your contributions honor your commitment to the values of positive life skill development and self-definition experienced at CSC.