Every year we gather our whole CI community for our annual Base Camp Bash—a night of celebration and stories, fun and fundraising. The theme of this year’s Base Camp Bash was “Changemakers,” but who exactly is a Changemaker? We couldn’t have said it better than Kevin Cano, Lafayette Stewardship Intern and winner of this year’s Outdoor Leadership Award:

“Everyone can make a change. You can make a change, I can make a change, any kid can make a change if you have the inspiration, strength, and courage to do it.” 

Inspiration, strength, and courage were the cornerstones of the night; we got goosebumps with AXL Academy’s Mr. Curtis as he shared moving words about why we do the work we do for our scholars. We heard from Clement and Mackenzie, whose incredible leadership among their peers led them to be recognized as this year’s Ripple Effect Award winners. We were blown away by Kevin, our Outdoor Leadership Award winner, and his beautiful “a capella” speech. We shared a toast with Distillery 291 and laughed at Andy Seth’s absolutely unreal auctioneering antics (that Brickity-Breck trip though!).

All in all, we raised over $93,000 of critical funds to support our students and our programs, smashing our goal and setting a new event record for CI! We couldn’t have done it without each and every one of our amazing donors, sponsors, partners, and community members—it takes a village, and each one of you has truly made a change. Thank you!

Written by CI Curriculum + Development Manager Chelsea Tossing

See more photos from the Base Camp Bash here, and be sure to watch the award presentations on your YouTube Channel!

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