Champions for Children Breakfast 2024 Recap

Camp Fire Alaska hosted our 21st Annual Champions for Children Breakfast November 7, 2024, bringing together hundreds of community members. We are reflecting on key takeaways – like the event’s purpose and goal, and our organization’s values – in this blog post.

Children are the future – that is one of Camp Fire’s core beliefs. Likewise, it is the rallying force behind this year’s Champions for Children Breakfast, powerful enough to bring community members together. At the event, generous supporters made Alaska’s future brighter by donating to support our cause!

About Champions for Children Breakfast

The Champions for Children Breakfast is our largest fundraising event, an annual celebration for the past 21 years! It gives an opportunity for community members to learn about and connect with Camp Fire Alaska’s staff, youth, and families. This leads to exciting new partnerships and opportunities. Most importantly, it garners generous donations from individuals, businesses, and corporations. These donations, in turn, help Camp Fire Alaska respond to and continue supporting our community’s greatest needs. Needs such as childcare, which we can fulfill by offering our award-winning programs to youth state-wide. In short, the Breakfast annually raises funds for a brighter future for Alaska’s youth.

Starting off with a Camp Song

This year’s Breakfast started off with a song, a camp song to be specific. Led by one of our very own Camp Fire kids, a fifth grader named Marshall, our youth choir from Inlet View Elementary sang their hearts out. Their performance opened the event, making a room full of over 400 guests feel welcome. Following this performance, River, a second grader who impressed the crowd with her incredible reading ability, joined the youth choir onstage. Together, these two youth emcees set the tone for a great morning.

Youth are at the center of the work we do at Camp Fire Alaska and this year they played an even bigger role in the Breakfast. As guests finished eating breakfast, our next speaker, Frank, Camp Fireweed’s Archery Specialist, took the stage. During the summer months, Frank goes by the camp-name “Buck.” Although only 17 years-old, Frank delivered a powerful story about his transformational experience working at Camp Fire. As Archery Specialist, Frank became a more confident leader and deeply recognizes his impact on the campers he teaches. Frank’s speech left everyone feeling like they wanted to learn archery!

Archery Specialist Frank addressing the crowd at the Champions for Children Breakfast 2024 Next, the lights dimmed, and Camp Fire Alaska’s President and CEO Mel Hooper took the stage. During her speech, she shared stories. She filled the morning with humor, kindness, curiosity, and above all, genuine empathy. She spoke on the transformative nature of camp and our program’s ability to strengthen youth confidence. Additionally, she spoke about the heartbreaking realities some children face, and how our group sharing activity, EMBERS, helps youth accept their struggles. The most poignant of these stories featured a boy battling to cope with his younger sister’s terminal illness.

Mel’s Champions for Children Breakfast Speech

“At Camp, the day is packed full of activities for kids to challenge themselves and learn new skills. But at the end of each day, is “EMBERS” –– a time for slowing down, connecting with one another, and reflecting on the day. EMBERS can be light and silly—or really deep and meaningful. Sometimes it lasts 10 minutes. And other times it can go on for 2 hours.

“On the last evening of camp, the cabin of 10-12 year old boys was just getting settled for Embers. Once settled, we asked the group, ‘What challenges are you facing?’ The responses varied…. one boy talked about how hard it was to be grounded from video games all summer, another about losing his favorite pair of basketball shoes… Then, there was David.

Sharing stories of adversity…

“He shared how hard the past few years have been on him and his family after his youngest sister, Annie, was diagnosed with cancer. […] While also dealing with the stresses of military life, David had taken on a lot to support his three younger siblings.

“Annie’s cancer is now in remission but since the diagnosis, David shared he has just felt numb not really able to feel anything—happy or sad. But he said this week at camp… it changed something inside for him—it was hard to explain to others. Getting to watch Annie at camp and see her just get to be a kid and play and laugh and have a good time. He felt joy seeing that. And getting to play all the camp games with his siblings like “capture the mattress”… This week he felt happy for the first time again.

Reflecting on the beauty of the moment…

“And the beauty of that moment was so much more than witnessing a pre-teen boy talk about his feelings. We created a supportive space for everyone – no matter their struggles. Whether you lost a favorite pair of shoes or shared some of your deepest fears- there is no judgement or comparing. Embers is about holding space for everyone to be validated, a space that builds trust and empathy so real connection can happen.

“So yeah, this is why I talk so much about the power of camp. Camp transforms people … This is another example why Camp Fire is dedicated to ensuring ALL kids can experience summer camp.”

––Mel Hooper

Camp Fire Alaska’s President and CEO

Following Mel’s powerful speech, we shared our latest video “Growing Alaska’s Future” which highlights Camp Fire Alaska’s multi-generational effect.

Culminating in an Ask for Support

The event culminated in an ask for support from Camp Fire Alaska’s past Board Member Katie Bates. Grace, a sixth-grade Camp Fire kid participating in the Breakfast for her fifth year in a row, joined Katie. Together, their joint onstage presence closed out the event, inspiring a room full of supporters.

We happily announce that, thanks to our incredible donors, our goal for the event was surpassed! Incredibly, donors raised over $250,000 to further our organization’s impact! We are grateful for everyone who donated and those who chose to become Champions for Children!

Our 21st Annual Champions for Children Breakfast continued Camp Fire Alaska’s decades-long tradition. From across Alaska, supporters came to make charitable donations, helping to create a brighter future for our state. They chose to invest in the resilience and innovation of Alaska’s youth — igniting hope.

Remember, if you were unable to donate, but still interested in making a change, visit our donation page here.

Thank you to our Champions for Children Breakfast Sponsors!

Camp Fire Alaska is grateful for all the sponsors of this year’s Champions for Children Breakfast!