Camp Courageous

06/19/2026

Service Project with a Splash of Fun!
On Thursday, a group of 84 youth and their chaperones from the Church of Jesus Christ headed to Camp Courageous for a service project during their Summer Camp. This group spent their morning clearing brush, sticks and fallen trees from the woods while working on their team building! No service project is complete without a splash of fun, so they came prepared with 1,000 water balloons and a balloon launcher! Campers and Volunteers had a blast playing build and destroy, tug of war and even a little dancing on the front lawn! View Photos from the day- https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCX4R9 .

06/16/2026

Sherry Bouska Shares Her Incredible Talent - Camp Courageous was honored to receive a special delivery from Sherry Bouska, who generously donated several beautiful handmade quilts. Each quilt showcases her remarkable craftsmanship, dedication, and attention to detail. These heartfelt creations will provide warmth, comfort, and joy to our campers for years to come. Thank you, Sherry, for sharing your incredible talent and generosity with Camp Courageous.

06/15/2026

On November 1 and 2, 1974, Tait Cummins and Jerry Brady, General Manager of WMT, hosted the World’s Largest Garage Sale at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids. The event raised an incredible $10,000 to help pull Camp out of debt.

Donations came from as far away as Charles City and Muscatine, and an estimated 750–1,000 volunteers helped make the sale a success.

From those humble beginnings, the sale eventually moved to Manchester—and this year, we are proud to celebrate its 50th year! What an amazing legacy of generosity, community, and support for Camp.

06/15/2026

Luau Vibes Rain or Shine: John Deere Transforms Camp Courageous into a Tropical Paradise - Last week, a group of John Deere employees spent their morning decorating for the Luau Dance at Camp Courageous! With their ingenuity and creativity, the Pavilion was transformed into a tropical paradise. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans, and the dance had to be moved to base Camp— but that didn’t dampen the fun! Campers attending week-long sessions still got to enjoy all of the hard work and beautiful decorations, safely celebrating in the Gym! Thank you John Deere!

06/14/2026

This weekend at camp, a transformation of Pitlik Cabin is quietly taking shape… Stella Flynn, chose to complete her Eagle Scout Project at Camp Courageous giving Pitlik Cabin a modern- artistic facelift. With the help of family and friends, the project is taking shape!

Stay tuned for an update of the final master pieces yet to come!

06/12/2026

06/12/2026

This Saturday, Camp Courageous is being featured as a part of the Mi-T-M segment of Now We Know with Steve Guttenburg!

Tune in tomorrow, Saturday June 13th at 10am CDT to hear a bit about Mi-T-M Corporation and a bit about their partnership with Camp Courageous!

Students and teachers from Spring sessions are also featured in the segment participating in a few camp activities!

06/11/2026

Dean Kramer (Sno-Go) Sand Springs, Passes - For nearly 35-years, Dean Kramer (co-owner of Sno-Go with his brother, Rick), have been providing Camp Courageous all the salt it has needed for the harsh Iowa winters, thus protecting the campers, staff, and public from slips and falls due to snow and ice. These donations have saved the Camp tens-of thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, Dean Kramer, 74, of Sand Springs has passed away on his 42nd wedding anniversary. Dean and his incredible family have played a huge role in the history of Camp Courageous. Camp’s sympathy goes out to family and friends.

06/08/2026

🌟 Courageous Spotlight: Halle Heath 🌟

Halle recently joined the Camp Courageous Travel Team as the Travel Coordinator!

We're excited to welcome Halle to this important role, helping create meaningful travel experiences and adventures for the campers.

The Travel Team sat down with Halle for a quick interview—check it out below and get to know the newest member of the team!

06/08/2026

Twila Griffith’s Donation To The Camp Courageous Foundation, Is a Beautiful Legacy To Her & Her Late Husband, Daryl Griffith. - It was a wonderful treat to have Twila Griffith and Doug Daubenberger recently visit Camp Courageous! Both are widowed from wonderful spouses. Doug’s roots are in Quasqueton. Twila is from Dubuque. Twila’s husband, Daryl Griffith was my exceptional Earth Science teacher. Mr. Griffith was ahead of his time, with Earth Day just starting when I was in his class in 1970. I told Twila, I wasn’t an ‘A’ student, but from the inspiration of Mr. Griffith came solar panels at Camp Courageous, saving the Camp over $120,000/year and in my personal life, where solar panels power everything. In the addition of planting of thousands of trees, most from seedlings…most at a rate 250-trees/year at Camp and home. The Griffiths have been long time supporters of Camp Courageous and Doug had heard so much about the Camp from Tait Cummins and Leo Greco on WMT. -Charlie