He stood still. One eye closed, the other focused on the target just a few yards away. The string pulled taut, he held his breath. He released his fingers, sending the arrow sailing through the air. Bullseye!
The crowd surrounding the boy erupted into uproarious applause. He stood there for a few brief seconds to admire his accomplishment.
A smile spread across his face. This was one of the best days of his life. He loved it here and never wanted to leave.
The young boy is a camper at Victory Junction in Randleman, NC. Just as Victory Junction isn’t like some summer camps, the boy isn’t like some boys.
The camper has one of many medical conditions served by Victory Junction, whose mission is to enrich the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses by providing life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically sound environment.
“The camp experience is not just about playing games, it is about helping children learn more about their disabilities and what they can do.” — Chad Coltrane, President and CEO, Victory Junction
At Victory Junction, campers like the boy in the above story enjoy their time at the camp more because of their newfound abilities than the actual activities. After being told for most of their lives that they couldn’t do something due to their conditions, Victory Junction strips away those barriers.
“Victory Junction is where children, whose lives are filled with limitations and boundaries, face fun challenges and discover just how resilient they are,” Chad Coltrane, the camp’s president and CEO, told My Classic Garage. “The camp experience is not just about playing games, it is about helping children learn more about their disabilities and what they can do.”
Ever since they welcomed their first campers in June 2004, Victory Junction has been changing the lives of campers and their families. According to Chad, to date more than 25,000 children and their families “have received not only a circle of support but experiences thought only to be possible by healthy children.”
Each week during the summer, the camp accepts up to 128 campers between the ages of 6 and 16. Some former campers even return to the camp as counselors when they age out.
Campers are scheduled for specific weeks depending on their illness or medical condition. Typically each week the camp serves campers with one of two conditions, ranging from bleeding disorders to cancer to heart disease to rheumatologic disorders to physical disabilities and many other ailments.
For example, one week the camp may serve campers who have either spina bifida or cerebral palsy and the following week they may serve campers who are burn survivors or have a skin disease. Therefore, campers are around other kids who are just like them and most likely going through many of the same things.
Regardless of which week a camper is there or what condition a camper may have, a typical day for a camper is similar to other campers during other weeks.
“A typical summer camp day begins at 7:30 a.m. with optional open program activities. Breakfast is at 8:30 a.m. and then followed by a dance party. Morning program activities are open until lunch,” stated Chad. “Following lunch, camp takes a rest during ‘recharge.’ The minute that recharge is over, afternoon program activities are opened back up until dinner at 6:00 p.m.
“The fun continues after dinner with an all-camp activity until kids retire back to their cabins around 9:00 p.m.”
At Victory Junction there is no shortage of activities for campers to try out, many for the first time. In addition to archery, there is bowling, horseback riding, arts and crafts, music, dancing, fishing, swimming, team sports and more. There is even an adventure tower and zipline for the more adventurous.
Perhaps the best thing about Victory Junction, outside of the many life-changing experiences and lifelong friendships to be made, is that it is free. Although the cost of a campership is $2,500, the generosity of donors makes it possible for campers to attend the camp at no cost to the child or his or her parents.
Recently, the 2017 E.L.K. Charity Challenge (E.L.K. stands for “Everyone Loves Kids”) presented the camp with a check for $30,250, enough for 12 camperships.
Victory Junction was the dream of Adam Petty, an up-and-coming driver in NASCAR. He was the son of NASCAR driver Kyle Petty and the grandson of NASCAR’s King, Richard Petty. In 1999, Adam and Kyle visited Florida’s Camp Boggy Creek, which served children with chronic medical conditions and serious illnesses.
“Adam’s legacy of love was realized when we opened our gates to our first campers in 2004.” — Chad Coltrane
Adam was impressed and inspired by the camp and decided he wanted to create a similar camp in North Carolina. Unfortunately, less than a year later, 19-year-old Adam tragically lost his life in a racing accident at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
His family decided to honor his memory and went to work on creating Victory Junction.
“The Petty family gathered their strength and challenged themselves, their friends and the NASCAR community to build his inspired dream — a place where children with serious illness would be able to experience the joys of childhood and forget about being sick for a while,” said Chad. “Adam’s legacy of love was realized when we opened our gates to our first campers in 2004.”
Today the camp consists of more than 35 buildings, which include 16 cabins, dining hall, horse barn, waterpark, locker rooms, arts and crafts, theatre, administration, spiritual center, superdome, volunteer housing, gymnasium and more.
Many of the buildings and the building of the camp were supported by the donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, small businesses, civic groups and various organizations.
Summer camp isn’t the only time campers can visit Victory Junction or be positively impacted by the camp.
“Since 2012, Victory Junction’s Reach program allows us to take the magic of camp beyond the gates of Victory Junction and bring specialized camp-style programming to children and families year round at hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses in North Carolina and South Carolina,” said Chad.
“We provide a hands-on approach, to bring camp experiences to bedsides and playrooms to help reduce the stress of hospital stays.”
Some of the activities that the Reach program brings to children and their families during some of their scariest times include painting, woodworking, songwriting, tie dying, puppetry, games and other exciting and creative activities.
Additionally, Victory Junction offers weekends in the spring and fall that focus on bringing entire families (as much as 32 different families at one time) to camp to experience adventures together.
Whether it’s a bullseye on the archery range, a strike at the bowling alley or conquering a fear of heights by taking a ride on the zipline, campers leave Victory Junction with lifelong friends, a lifetime of memories and the confidence to do things they once thought were impossible.
