For most children, summer camp is a time to celebrate the end of school, have adventures and make new friends. It’s a magical and memorable experience.

For children who have experienced great hardships — like displacement or the loss of a parent during war — camp holds even more significance. It is therapeutic and healing. It distracts the mind and decompresses the soul.

Every year, Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) sponsors a beautiful two-week camp experience for just over 150 kids from its “Children of Armenia Sponsorship Program” (CASP). The participants come from a variety of difficult backgrounds. Most are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Some are the children of soldiers who were killed in the 44-day war and others were displaced from their homes in Artsakh last year.

During the camp, children form life-long friendships. They learn and develop new skills, sight-see, and participate in a full range of fun and exciting activities. They eat regular and balanced meals and are physically active. This year, they’ll even be introduced to lacrosse thanks to the support of the Armenian Lacrosse Federation!

Due to limited financial resources, FAR cannot send all of the children from CASP to camp. We at Ayo! would like to raise enough money to sponsor at least 50 more children from the list. It’s about $250 per child for 16 days.

The more we raise, the more children can attend camp. Are you excited to give them an experience of a lifetime? We are!