PINETOP, AZ — It's the last week of school for many Valley students and, with summer break here, some parents are wondering where they'll send their kids during the day.
Camp Grace, located in Pinetop, had more than 1,000 kids attend its day and overnight camps last summer. The year prior, it was less than 1,000.
The camp has grown exponentially and that’s in part due to previous Governor Doug Ducey’s free summer program last year called "AZ On Track," where students were able to attend different summer camps and activities at no cost. This was a program the previous governor put in place to help kids get back on track after COVID-19.
“We were really excited for our funding. I would say about 75% of our funding comes from that grant. The rest comes from private donations and gifts in kind, basically,” said Jennifer Brimhall, the executive director of Camp Grace.
However, this summer, things are different. Brimhall said the camp was denied from getting grant funding from Governor Katie Hobbs’ new summer program.
Hobbs’ office replaced Ducey’s program, saying it was a one-time funding opportunity that came from the American Rescue Plan funds they canceled and say were illegally given out by the prior administration.
Governor Hobbs’ new $37.5 million program had to be done through a grant process, and a spokesperson for her office told ABC15 they are giving out about $22.4 million to organizations across Arizona.
In the denial letter to Camp Grace, there was no reason offered as to why they were rejected.
“It’s devastating,” Brimhall said.
Because of the denial, Brimhall said they can’t offer widespread free programs to students like they did last year. Of the 2,000 kids who registered to attend the camp this summer, only about 210 to 220 students will be coming.
Brimhall said they dropped the prices for camp significantly. The overnight program previously cost nearly $1,000 but is now less than $400. Day camp used to cost about $600 but they dropped the price to about $255.
She said some families are paying a little extra to help other families afford to go to camp. Worker positions have been cut, some going down to only part-time, and others are volunteering their time.
They’ve had some other services offered to them for free, but it still doesn’t make up the cost that they needed.
Before getting free funding from the previous governor, Brimhall said they were mostly funded by private donations and families paying full price for the camps. However, the free program boosted their enrollment and it’s now harder for some families to pay.
That’s the case for Susan Smith, whose grandchild Wyatt attended the camp for the first time last year. She initially registered Wyatt for camp this summer but pulled out since they can’t afford it.
“I am a grandma raising her grandson and I am on Social Security. Money is tight,” she told ABC15.
While Brimhall knew it was a grant process and there was a chance of being denied, they were confident they’d get the money, especially knowing that they were listed as the top performer in Ducey’s program. Brimhall says it’s confusing for them not to know why they were denied.
“Basically we made some large assumptions and we were encouraged to apply that we were very successful but those assumptions were ultimately denied in the end,” said Brimhall.
Regardless, though, she said she’s concerned for the students who now have nowhere to go. She says there are no options in the area for kids to attend for free and they’ve been trying to reach out to the governor’s office asking where they can send the kids, but Brimhall said they haven’t received any information.
“If there's some other program available, we want our children to go to that program, because that's how important it is. It makes a huge difference in kids' lives,” she said.
Camp Grace has a GoFundMe running, hoping to raise money and offer more kids camps for free when they can and pay for staff. They’re looking to hopefully allow 200 day and 200 overnight kids to camp for free through fundraising.
According to the grant solicitation website, eligible groups that could apply are public school districts, public charter schools, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations that service K-12 kids, education-related nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education.
The money is also for “dedicated and established summer enrichment programs with a minimum of a one-year operating history and funding will not support 100% underwriting or costs of such programs,” the website read.
New or "pop-up’' summer enrichment programs were not eligible to apply, but Camp Grace has been around for decades.
ABC15 reached out to the governor’s office multiple times, trying to get a list of organizations that were approved or denied for the grant, why those decisions were made, and how much each organization is getting. The office advised filing a public records request, which is now processing.
