Download Summer Camp Application & Waiver


 

Gladney is excited to partner with Camp El Tesoro in Granbury, Texas for our inaugural GTO summer camp!  SAVE THE DATE for Sunday, July 23 – Thursday, July 27, 2017 (4 nights & 5 days).  We are so excited in your interest in joining us!  We are headed out of the big city to have an exciting time of friendship and camp adventures.  Our goal during the week is to provide a fun, comfortable atmosphere for boys and girls ages 11-19, adopted or not, to share stories and create bonds with their peers.

GTO Scholarship Information

Gladney Teen Outreach has established a scholarship fund to honor students whose lives have been touched by adoption. These scholarships will be awarded to students who are members of GTO. The award recognizes leadership, academic excellence, as well as community involvement.  Click here to download the GTO Summer Camp Scholarship Application (must be returned with the Summer Camp Application).

 

Why camp with GTO?

√  Connects individuals with similar experiences
√  Fun and memorable
√  Support and community
√  Teach new social skills
√  Feel confident
√  A chance to feel like you belong
√  Personal development
√  Gives adoptees a safe place to ask hard questions

 

GTO summer camp will include:

Challenge Courses
Horseback Riding
Canoeing
Kayaking
Fishing
Archery
Day & Night Nature Hikes
Campfires
Swimming (Pool & River/Lagoon)
Astronomy
Multi-Court Sports
Gaga Ball
Four Square in-the-air
Gladney Led Initiatives
Opening & Closing Ceremonies
Music
Goofiness & Fun
Lodging & 3 Hot Meals a Day
Snacks & Drinks
Role Model Camp Counselors (Adult Adoptees)

GTO campers have exclusive use of the Discovery Lodge, where we will hold programming when not involved in camp led activities.  This is also the the place where we will hang out, have snacks, games, music and a few surprises! 

GTO camp will have a good balance between routine and unstructured time, but make no mistake, we will have goofy chants and team songs, along with the traditional summer camp experience!  We'll also have adoption specific programming, like sharing adoption stories around the campfire and providing additional tools to the campers to process, accept and celebrate aspects of their own unique adoption story. 

Friends of adopted campers are encouraged to attend camp too and learn about adoption from their peers.  (Other activities will be available should non-adoptees choose not to join in on adoption programming). 

Your camper's experience begins the minute they land at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport!  Camp staff will be waiting to pick up our campers and bring them to the Gladney Center for Adoption, where we will have a campus tour and meet and greet.  Once we have all campers on site, we will go via bus to Camp El Tesoro to begin our week of adventure!  On Friday the bus will pick us up and take us back to Gladney, where staffers will provide rides to the airport and assist each child to their gate.

The cost for GTO summer camp is $1190 per camper, but take advantage of the early bird special of $1090 by March 1, 2017.  Our camp is all inclusive, so the only money campers need to bring is if they want to purchase anything at the airport or camp store. 

Licensed professionals from Gladney will also be on site to assist our group with any needs our campers may have.  Adopted children might have questions about identity, feelings of isolation, trauma in their past, birth parents, identity abandonment, and all of these issues can be supported and educated at camp.  Post adoption staff can encourage healthy, physical, mental and social development.

 

CAMP FIRE CAMP EL TESORO

Engaging youth and families with nature since 1934

Camp Fire Camp El Tesoro is a 223-acre multi-use camp established in 1934 and accredited by the American Camp Association. Located in Granbury, Texas, on the bend of the Brazos River at Fall Creek, Camp El Tesoro is equipped with two swimming pools, a covered equestrian center, a challenge course with both high and low elements and much more.

Go here for a virtual tour of El Tesoro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzjLcG0gHi8&feature=youtu.be