Echoing Hills Corporate Video

Success Story : Mr. Sanders

-Father of a Resident

Success Story : Jim & Joni

-Camper & Father

Success Story : Helen

-Resident

Success Story : Donald & Emily

-Camp Echoing Hills Staff

Success Story : Kate

“I remember it being the very first week of camp and absolutely falling in love with one of the young ladies in my cabin named Rachel right off the bat. One day at the fishing dock, we were just about to clean up and head back for lunch when Rachel got a bite. However, it wasn’t the typical bite one would expect at a little man-made pond, it was a snapping turtle! We were all so excited as she reeled the turtle in. Eventually its weight became too much for the line to hold and it broke off and fell back into the water. Rachel radiated so much joy and excitement in that moment. She couldn’t stop talking about it all day; she had a sort of glow on her face that didn’t seem to fade at all throughout the rest of the day. I am so thankful that I was able to witness such a joy-filled moment. After all, camp seeks to create opportunities like this for these beautiful individuals. This memory was definitely one of the highlights of my summer and I will cherish it forever!”
– Kate Burrall, Camp Echoing Hills Volunteer

Success Story : Tyler

“I have been coming to camp since 2010. I was a camper for some of these summers, but 2016 was my first full summer as a volunteer. The staff had served me in so many ways when I was a camper. I only hope I returned the favor for the campers in 2016. To say that Camp is in my heart forever is an understatement. It’s a place where I can get away from the troubles of this world we live in. In the process, I feel I’ve helped others. I bet I have set a precedent for campers becoming volunteers (Camper/Volunteer Faith, anyone?), but it truly is a blessing to me. Hope to be back next year!”
– Tyler, Past Camper/Volunteer

Success Story : Michael

“There are so many stories from which I could choose about camp as an example of what it means to me. So instead of choosing a specific story I’ll just share a general and what was (And will continue to be) the most meaningful experience. The first experience I had at CEH was the full summer of 2012 as a cabin leader. For many reasons that year was the end of a really dark time of life for me during which I quietly hated myself and in turn had little to no room for genuinely loving other people. Before camp I’d worked with men and women with developmental disabilities but doing so in a camp setting with so many people together of different age ranges and abilities from week to week 24/6 is down right exhausting through-and-through. And strangely it was the most rewarding time of my life up to that point. The stories of campers who are able to share them is sobering. The talents and gifts shared by people who are more often than not seen as only broken and disabled are so God-blessed important. During a time of my life when I thought I myself had nothing much left to give I found myself in a weird and most grace-filled property where weak and unattractive people were strong and beautiful, a real community of fully capable men, women, and children- camper, staff, volunteers alike each giving and receiving as much as one was able. To me thats worth remembering and celebrating, especially in going back to CEH to share more life together, as often as I can.”
– Michael, Past Staff/Volunteer

Success Story : Tabby

“We are so very grateful for all of the scholarships our daughter Tabby has received. She absolutely loves camp. We were very nervous about sending her to camp that first time. She was so very excited when she got home that we no longer had any reservations. She has some specialized medical needs so that added to our concerns.

We have been very pleased with her counselors and all of the staff. She has speech that is very hard to understand but she is able to get a lot across of the things she does at camp. When we go to check her in she typically goes into the main activity room and we don’t exist anymore.

We don’t tell her too far ahead of time because she absolutely won’t stop talking about “bye, bye camp”. We even have a CD with a song about “Are we going into the enemy’s camp and laying our weapons down?” and she has named it her “bye, bye camp” song because she heard the word camp. We always have to play it while we are in the car whether we are headed to or from camp. She is very good about helping pack her things. She loves the food and the songs and the interaction with the people. It is so very good for her.

We can never thank you enough.”
– Marti, Camper Mom

Success Story : echoingU

“As the Campus Director, I sometimes hear from students after they have exited our program, and I am always astounded to see how they grow both in our program and once they’ve moved on. One student who finished our program last year emailed me yesterday to ask about attending our end-of-the-year cookout. This is a student who, when she first started at echoingU, was unable to look people in the eye or say good morning. She attended echoingU for four years and showed tremendous growth during her time with us. Now after completing our program, she has gone on to attend college. In her email, she displayed some of skills that echoingU teaches by asking if she could attend and whether she could bring a dish. She wanted to come back to celebrate with some of her other friends who will be completing the program this year. Reading her email and seeing her continued growth gave me chills. I’m so proud of all of our echoingU students!”
– Vicki Widmar, Campus Director