Anthoney Crawford-Ferrell first came to Horizons on a field trip as a fourth grader with his school. He had never spent much time in the outdoors and fell instantly in love with Horizons. Thankfully, his mother was with him and learned about scholarships for kids who wanted to attend camp.

His mother encouraged him to write personal letters every summer explaining his need for campership funding. “I had a lot of childhood trauma, and camp was my sanctuary,” he said. He found peace in nature and formed meaningful friendships with fellow campers and counselors. “My love of nature started with sleeping under the stars,” Anthoney shared. “Growing up in the city, I never saw the stars. I remember that first night just being blown away and learning about light pollution. I remember I got home from camp that first week and asked my mom ‘do you know about light pollution?” Anthoney giggled.

“After my mom and I found ourselves homeless, we ended up in Platteville. That summer, I returned to camp, and it was great to be around people who looked like me and shared my culture. I could’ve ended up an angry kid and gone down the wrong path, but I found so much support at Horizons.” Anthoney continued to come back to camp every summer, ultimately going through Leaders In Training and becoming a Senior Counselor.

Anthoney is thankful for the access to scholarship funding to attend camp as a resource that helped mold him into who he is today. “After my years as a counselor, I continued to work with children as a preschool teacher before taking my current job working for the city of Madison.”

Anthoney continues to join us when his busy schedule allows, providing him that connection to nature and teaching by helping out on the adventure course with field trips and summer camp. He has even made guest appearances in skits during campfires.

We are so grateful for those who have supported camperships over the past 55 years to ensure that kids like Anthoney have access to the love and support found at camp and, of course, the stars.