05/21/2026
Dear Friend,
Summer camp is almost here! Soon campers will be singing songs of faith, experiencing loving community, and exploring God’s creation.
For most kids, a week at summer camp is a fond memory. For the students who come to camp through The Hope Project, it is often something they have never had before.
For ten years, Emily has watched kids from under-resourced neighborhoods arrive at camp — kids connected to camp through Indianapolis neighborhood centers. They come at no cost to their families or community centers. Some have never left the city lights.
What stays with Emily most are the moments, on cloudless nights, when kids look up. “I especially remember Bea’s reaction. ‘There are so. many. stars! Are you seeing this!?’ She didn’t want to come inside.”
Away from the streetlights and glow of the city, the sky at camp fills up. For kids from Indianapolis neighborhoods who’ve never seen a sky like that, the reaction is incredible.
Psalm 19:1 reads, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." For some campers, that declaration is new. The same stars that have always been there, waiting, finally seen. “The parallel is striking.” Emily says, “Sometimes campers feel like they’ve been waiting to be seen. Camp is a place where we’re blessed to show these kids that God sees them, even in the vastness of creation.”
The Hope Project exists because a handful of organizations and donors decided that camp should be available to everyone. The woods, the water, the stars — and the God who made them — belong to every child. Sometimes all it takes to change a young person's picture of what the world can hold is to see the stars for the first time. Then begin to understand who put those stars in the sky.
Your generosity to Impact 2818’s scholarship fund gives children like Bea a place to dwell richly in the creation and grace of God. As we prepare for summer camp, we invite you to give a gift of $25, $100, $500, or more. Thank you for helping us inspire faith, build relationships, and transform lives!
Nick Yarde, Executive Director
P.S. – Your gift today will help ensure continued places for kids to learn of God’s love for them. Please give at >https://bit.ly/4pjhaHO
