TOUR DE CIVITAN RAISING FUNDS FOR CAMPERS WITH DISABILITIES

PHOENIX (August 15, 2018) – Three riders traveling 1,000 miles hope to raise $50,000 for Civitan Foundation’s Camp Scholarship Fund to support children and adults with intellectual disabilities attending Camp Civitan in Williams, Arizona.

The Tour de Civitan is a fundraising bike ride down the west coast of Washington, Oregon and California beginning August 23 in Seattle, Washington and concluding in Santa Cruz, California on September 15.

“My first experience at camp was nearly 30 years ago,” said Civitan board member and ride organizer, Frank Nightingale. “I saw campers have the best week of their lives doing everything from playing kickball, riding horses, presenting plays, and making a new best friend for life. No camper should miss out on the value in Camp Civitan because of lack of funding. The Camp Scholarship Fund will make sure that any camper who wants to attend will have the opportunity.”

Founded in 1968, Camp Civitan was established to provide an accessible and adventure-filled camp experience for children and adults with developmental disabilities in Williams, Arizona. Today, nearly 1,000 campers from around the southwest attend Camp Civitan during one of the 10-week summer sessions and multiple weekend outings throughout the year.

To help celebrate the 50th anniversary of Civitan Foundation, Tour de Civitan was created to generate funds for scholarships to help campers who do not have the financial resources to attend Camp Civitan.

“Not every camper has access to state-funded respite hours to attend Camp Civitan,” said Civitan Foundation, Inc. CEO Dawn Trapp. “Civitan Foundation does everything possible to help a camper who wants to attend Camp Civitan make it happen. Having a healthy scholarship fund will help us help more children and adult campers experience the fun, socialization and life-changing adventures that Camp Civitan provides.”

Civitan Foundation has expanded to provide statewide high-quality programs that focus on education, nutrition and health, life skills, socialization, job training, employment programs, and respite/habilitation/attendant care services to meet the ever-changing needs of children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Serving over 200 individual members per day, we are recognized as a community leader in dynamic, purposeful, and impactful programs and services that promote independence, community integration and a healthy lifestyle.

The Tour de Civitan riders, Frank Nightingale, Jim Andrews and Gary Parkinson will leave Phoenix on August 20 and start their 1,000-mile ride August 23 from Seattle. The team is using maps provided by Adventure Cycling Association of Missoula, Montana to ride the safest bike touring routes, as well as camp at established facilities.

To make a donation in support of Tour de Civitan and Civitan Foundation, go to www.CivitanFoundationAZ.org/tour-de-civitan. The team will blog about their experiences on www.Facebook.com/TourdeCivitan.