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by Stephanie Struyck Elgin
Who knew the memories of summers spent at camp would have such a tremendous impact on Santa Clarita resident Eva Payne, shaping her future into a career devoted to others? Well it did. Those fond experiences where memories were made became the beginning of a strong foundation for a lifetime of giving.
Born and raised in Agoura Hills, Eva eventually made her way to the University of Nebraska where she studied theatre. She began working at a radio station, co-hosting the morning show, but her heart had missed spending her summers volunteering at camps. It wasn’t until the summer of 1998 when she had this idea of starting her own camp. “I wanted to make it special and unique,” states Eva. “I wanted a camp that would serve special needs children.”
And the idea for Project Kindle was born.
“I wanted to create a weeklong camp for children with HIV/AIDS,” states Eva. “Planning a camp was a no brainer for me, it was just the logistical side I needed help with.”
Project Kindle began in August of 1998. Eva, the organization Founder and Executive Director, saw a need to serve special needs youth through a cost-free recreational, weeklong summer camp. The following year, the first camp session was held. “There were 50 kids at our first Camp Kindle. We even had 25 volunteers and one nurse. No one wanted to go home. It was a powerful moving experience for both campers and staff members.” In 2003, Camp Kindle celebrated its fifth year with over 100 children attending camps.
Camp Kindle became Project Kindle the following year, expanding its services to not only those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS during a weeklong camp, but also multiple camping sessions and year round support. In 2005, Eva took her program to California. “We rented out camps all over southern California. Our program began to grow but the camp facilities were not meeting the needs of our campers. We thought it would be a fantastic idea to create a facility to meet our needs as well as our campers,” states Eva. “The idea of purchasing a campsite, however, seemed unreasonable for only a weeklong camp session.”
Then, the idea for Kindle Ranch began to form. “We saw the need to construct this ranch in our community, because there isn’t one that exists in Los Angeles,” states Eva. “We can host camps at Kindle Ranch, but we also want to allow other non-profit organizations to use our facility as well. We want to create a facility where a child with any condition can go and their needs can be met, and non-profit organizations can go to host their camps also.”
Kindle Ranch is being developed to provide a place where non profits can gather to fulfill the specific program needs and where their campers can enjoy the therapeutic benefits of purposeful recreational activities and nature. Kindle Ranch will be a result of a community collaboration. “Currently we have 14 non-profit organization partners,” states Eva. “The Michael Hoefflin Foundation and the Child & Family Center are two of the local organizations involved, and we are so happy that Boston Scientific has awarded a grant to run a summer camp here in the SCV this summer.”
“We want to build memories to last a lifetime, and a facility like Kindle Ranch will help us do just that.”
If you are affiliated with an organization, would like to donate, or for more information, please contact Executive Director, Eva Payne eva@kindleranch.org, call 661-257-1901, or visit www.kindleranch.org.
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