Camp River Run Hosts First Cornhole Tournament in Boise

More than 20 years ago, I got a phone call from a friend. She told me about another friend of hers, Shawna Van Beek, who had this idea.

She wanted to create a camp for Idaho kids dealing with serious medical conditions, who couldn’t necessarily have the same summer camp experience so many of us had growing up.

Go away from Mom and Dad for a few days, sleep in a cabin, go fishing, play games, sit around a campfire and make new friends.

Just be a kid.

I met with Shawna and the people working to make her dream happen, and we held a fundraiser before the first Camp River Run ever took place. I’ve been a fan and supporter ever since.

I’ve Watched Camp River Run Grow From the Beginning

When that first camp finally happened, my daughters and I had the chance to be there and help. My daughters served as counselors during those first couple of years.

It’s hard to describe what it was like watching some of those kids experience camp for the first time. These were kids dealing with medical conditions that could make something as simple as going away to summer camp incredibly difficult or impossible.

Camp River Run changed that.

Today, Camp River Run provides Idaho kids ages 7 to 17 who are living with life-threatening illnesses or ongoing medical conditions with a completely free summer camp experience and the medical care comes with them.

Camp has licensed medical personnel, volunteers are trained in CPR and First Aid, and counselors receive training specific to the medical needs of the campers they’re paired with.

That means Mom and Dad can know their child is being taken care of and the kids can just concentrate on being kids.

This Year’s Camp Was Another Huge Success

I recently had Kayla McMichael and Sarah Delage from Camp River Run in the studio, and I asked how this year’s camp went.

Their answer was pretty simple: “It was phenomenal. The kids had a blast and the counselors had a blast."

And now it’s time to start making sure they can do it all over again.

Camp River Run says it costs approximately $1,500 to send one child to summer camp, and families aren’t charged for their child to attend. That’s where we come in.

Grab a Partner and Play Cornhole for Camp River Run

Camp River Run is teaming up with Cornhole Idaho for its first-ever Cornhole For A Cause tournament.

It’s happening Thursday, October 22, at Sockeye Brewing on Fairview Avenue in Boise. Check-in starts at 5 p.m., and the bags start flying at 6 p.m.

A woman is throwing a frisbee in front of a building — Photo by Bennie Bates on Unsplash

It’s $100 for a two-person team, and you’ll get two warm-up games followed by double-elimination tournament play with a four-game guarantee.

Don’t have a partner? Don’t worry about it. Cornhole Idaho can pair individual players together and the money raised will help fund Camp River Run’s 2027 summer camp.

Idaho Businesses Can Get Involved Too

A $1,000 lane sponsorship includes a customized set of cornhole boards featuring your company’s logo. So you can support the kids, get your company involved and walk away with something pretty cool when it’s over.

Campers and counselors are also being invited to the event, so if you’ve ever wondered what Camp River Run is all about, this is a great opportunity to meet some of the people who make it happen.

You can also learn about sending an eligible child to camp or becoming a volunteer yourself.

More Than 20 Years Later, I’m Still a Fan

Camp River Run’s first actual summer camp took place in 2008, but the dream and the work to make it happen started years before that.

I was lucky enough to be there for some of those earliest days and after watching my own daughters serve as counselors and seeing the faces of kids getting to experience something they’d never been able to experience before, this organization became pretty special to me.

Today, Camp River Run says its summer and day camps serve around 250 Idaho kids each year. That’s a long way from a phone call about one woman’s dream more than 20 years ago.

So grab somebody who thinks they’re pretty good at cornhole, put together a team and come throw some bags for a really good reason.

Because every kid deserves the chance to just be a kid.

Inside Camp River Run: Where Idaho Kids Get to Just Be Kids

Camp River Run gives Idaho children with serious and ongoing medical conditions the chance to experience summer camp with the medical support they need. Take a look at the campers, counselors and volunteers who’ve helped make the magic happen.

Gallery Credit: Cory Mikhals