Construction of Camp Soaring Eagle, a summer camp for children with life threatening illnesses, will soon begin near Verde Valley School’s Village of Oak Creek campus.
Larson Newspapers
Construction of Camp Soaring Eagle, a summer camp for children with life threatening illnesses, will soon begin near Verde Valley School’s Village of Oak Creek campus.
VVS’ Board of Trustees recently leased more than 50 acres of land to the Max James Family Foundation, which will soon begin construction of the camp.
Camp Soaring Eagle, an aspiring member of Paul Newman’s Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, will be situated along the eastern side of the VVS’ 179-acre campus, according to Paul Domingue, the school’s headmaster.
The camp will be open to children ages 6 through 17 who reside within a 500-mile radius of the camp. It will include an on-site medical center and a 1:2 staff-to-child ratio, according to Camp Soaring Eagle’s Web site, www.campsoaringeagle.org.
The camp will be funded solely through donations and fundraising, and will be free to the families of the children who attend, according to the Web site.
The camp will offer ill children an opportunity for the traditional summer camp experience; it will also promote VVS’ own goals toward financial sustainability.
The income generated by the deal is comparable to a sizeable endowment, Domingue said.
VVS, which is one of the nation’s top independent boarding schools, was founded in 1948 by Boston native Hamilton Warren.
It was intended to promote international cooperation and understanding in the wake of World War II. The campus now represents more than a dozen countries among its study body.
With rigorous educational requirements and the recent designation as an International Baccalaureate School, VVS now stands among the world’s most highly-regarded preparatory boarding schools, Domingue said.
VVS’ parent company, the National Association of Independent Schools, always challenged VVS trustees to establish plans for the school’s sustainability, Domingue said.
The school’s nearly 180 acres of land near Cathedral Rock is its biggest asset.
VVS’ board of trustees first considered selling the land, according to Domingue, but the opportunity to use it for purposes which furthered the school’s commitment to children seemed the better option.
It took more than three years for the board — made up of volunteers from all over the world — to negotiate the complicated deal, but it’s done.
“It’s a transformational moment,” Domingue said. “It’s a chance for the school to no longer have to worry about its survival.”
It can now focus on expanding its educational programming and further developing the campus, Domingue said.
The Board of Trustees have worked for years to “achieve a level of financial security that is capable of sustaining Hamilton Warren’s original vision,” Domingue said.
Allowing the camp to move in next door ensures progress toward that goal.
The camp is expected to open in a limited capacity in September 2008.
For more information about Camp Soaring Eagle, visit www.campsoaringeagle.org.
