The Heart Behind Skylark’s Financial Aid

April 13, 2023

Since the very beginning of Skylark’s existence, offering financial aid has been one the primary ways we love to serve the communities surrounding our camp locations. One of Skylark’s core values is Accessibility. Our registration assistance program exists to enable children to attend camp, no matter their family’s financial circumstances.

Where Does the Financial Aid at Skylark Come From?

You might be wondering where our financial aid funds come from! Not only do our church partners provide their buildings and other support throughout the summer, they also provide scholarship funds! How amazing is that?! Our churches believe that camp is such a great way to love and engage with their neighbors, each site sets aside a specified amount annually that Skylark stewards and applies directly to registration costs for families.

We also have generous donors who provide for families that need assistance attending camp. Whether it’s $10 or $1,000 these faithful folks have bought into our vision to be accessible and are joyfully giving to Skylark so we, in turn, can give it to our families.

Who Receives Finacial Aid at Camp Skylark?

You might also be wondering WHO receives registration support through our financial aid program: 

  • Any family that is interested in applying can fill out an online application, including financial forms and a questionnaire that allows families to include other extenuating circumstances. Our administrative team takes both finances and circumstances into consideration as they create an individualized, needs-based offer letter with a financial aid amount offered. Families will complete a signed contract including the benefits and expectations for attendance and their discount is then applied to the weeks of camp they are registered for.
  • We also offer a financial aid discount code for school teachers! All teachers will receive $50 off registration costs for each of their own children that register to attend one or more weeks of camp! We love our teachers!
  • Financial aid funds also assist families through sibling and multi-week discounts. Every little bit helps and we’re happy to offer assistance to working families that need childcare throughout the summer and/or have multiple camper-aged children.

The Heart Behind Finacial Aid

Kelley Grace is Skylark’s Administrative Director, and she personally reviews every financial aid application. Her heart is to love and provide assistance for families! Here’s a note from KG:

Skylark exists to grow the family of God by depth, number, and intimacy. As the Administrative Director, a huge way I’m able to contribute to our goal is overseeing the Financial Aid Assistance Process. Our churches generously give each year so we can make camp more accessible to families here in the Dallas region. 

There is a story behind every face and I love engaging with camper families and their stories. It’s a gift I will never get tired of being a part of. We love providing families the ability to apply for financial aid to give their children a week or multiple weeks to just be a kid and have fun at camp. Regardless of what else might be going on in a camper’s life, we know camp is a place where children hear about Jesus in a safe and super fun environment. We know it’s a place where they will feel special and make memories they’ll never forget.

I speak with lots of parents that have experienced difficulties in this season of their lives. Being able to talk with them about what is going on in their lives allows us to extend our ministry to children and extend that hand of care and support to the whole family. What a joy to play a small role in our camper families’ lives. 

We care deeply about the privacy and anonymity of camper families utilizing financial aid. Our administrative team handles the distribution of these funds privately so that our churches, camp directors, camp staff and campers are not aware of which campers are scholarshipped. Since Skylark also provides lunch and a snack, all campers have the same opportunities and amenities without regard to any financial assistance provided.

Skylark is so thankful to our church partners and donors. We are excited every day that we are able to give the gift of camp and make it accessible to our community members that need assistance. We can’t wait to see what incredible memories all of our campers make this summer!!