Reach for the Stars with Camp Starlight

In 2002 I came to Camp Starlight for the first time as a counselor—thinking I was showing up to help kids have a great week at camp. What I didn’t realize then was how deeply Camp Starlight would shape the next two decades of my life.

As a counselor, I watched something remarkable happen again and again. Kids arrived guarded, quiet, or unsure of where they fit—and within days, they were laughing, connecting, and standing a little taller. Camp Starlight has always been more than activities and cabins. It’s a place where young people feel seen, safe, and valued—often in ways they don’t experience anywhere else.

In 2013, I helped Camp Starlight take a major step forward by becoming its own independent nonprofit, a 501(c)(3). That work was about sustainability—but also about belief. Belief that this camp mattered enough to protect, grow, and invest in for the long term.

Camp Starlight didn’t just stay part of my life professionally. It became personal.

Through camp, I met a child who would later become part of my family when I became a foster parent. That experience forever changed my understanding of what camp can mean in a young person’s life—not just for a week, but for their future. Camp relationships don’t always end at the closing campfire. Sometimes they become lifelines.

In 2025, Camp Starlight intentionally expanded its mission to serve LGBTQIA+ youth, and today it is the only overnight camp in the state of Oregon dedicated to LGBTQIA+ kids. For many of these youth, camp may be the first place where they are fully accepted without explanation or fear—where they get to simply be kids.

In 2026, I will step into the role of Camp Director, carrying with me over 20 years of lived experience with this community—as a counselor, a nonprofit builder, a foster parent, and a believer in the power of safe, affirming spaces.

Your donation helps make that possible.

It helps remove financial barriers. It helps train staff who lead with compassion and care. It helps ensure Camp Starlight remains a place where kids are celebrated exactly as they are.

When you support Camp Starlight, you’re not just funding a camp. You’re helping create belonging. You’re helping change trajectories. You’re helping kids know they matter.

Thank you for being part of this story.

- Randy