Our Crowdfunding Groups
Double the Value of Your Gift! This Week Only!
Our new challenge is a straight up, dollar for dollar matching challenge. We've got a special supporter of Camp Cooper willing to match up to $5,000 in gifts between today and Wednesday, April 26th. The value of your gift this week will be DOUBLED! Sharing this message and getting the word out is more important NOW than at any point in the campaign so far.
Answer the challenge and make your gift now. We truly can't do it without you. Your support gives Camp Cooper the resources we need to provide memorable overnight experiences in the Sonoran Desert to 3,000 kids next year. It has never been more important to give the gift of environmental learning. Thank you!
Inspiring the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders
Our home, the planet Earth, is in desperate need of a new generation of environmental leaders, and the Cooper Center for Environmental Learning is where they will begin their journey. Southern Arizona is faced with new and more challenging environmental issues each and every day, from energy consumption and air pollution to unhealthy food choices, overpopulation and dwindling water supplies.
Today’s children are tomorrow’s decision-makers, and the Cooper Center’s programs are the keystone experiences in unlocking each child’s appreciation and understanding of the vital links between human beings and the natural world.
You are the person who will shape the future of the Cooper Center for Environmental Learning. Your support is the key with which the Cooper Center will effectively carry out its Mission, Values, and Vision.
Here's What our Donors & Supporters Have to Say:
"Taking a field trip to Camp Cooper in elementary school was one of my fondest memories as a child. Now as a mother of school age children, I donate to Camp Cooper to help ensure that it is around to offer my kids and their friends the same exciting experiences I had." Jazmin Willard, Camp Cooper donor, alumni, and parent.
“The Southwestern Foundation for Education and Historical Preservation values Camp Cooper’s role in our community — creating future stewards of the Sonoran Desert by providing our children with deeper knowledge and appreciation of this unique place we inhabit.” Ann-Eve Pederson, Executive Director - Southwestern Foundation for Education and Historical Preservation Foundation and Camp Cooper alumni. Southwestern Foundation has supported Cooper with grants totalling $35,000 since 2015.
“As someone who’s done environmental education in Tucson for many years, I’ve discovered there’s no substitute for getting kids out into the desert. The sense of scale and assault on your senses can’t be mimicked. Cooper Center taps into the desert's potential not only through its unparalleled location but through the quality programs it delivers.” – Moses Thompson, Teacher & Counselor, Manzo Elementary
Below are thank yous from students at Lineweaver Elem. who completed Cooper's Earthkeepers program:
"I have learned things that I haven't learned before [at the Cooper Center]. I am connected to nature now." ~Scorpion
"Thank you so much for the wonderful experience. I feel like a better person already." ~Quail
"Thank you for teaching us how to be Apprentice Earthkeepers. I promise I will be the best Earthkeeper I can be and will help the nature live on." ~Kangaroo Rat
Our Mission & Values
Experiences at the Cooper Center provide a Sense of Place, a Sense of Wonder, and a Sense of Action. We believe it is our duty and obligation to help people learn about and feel connected to the desert in which we live. We believe that each day the beauty of the Sonoran Desert is offered up to us through a unique array of plants, animals, and vistas – ours to enjoy by simply taking the time to step into the outdoors. We believe that each person must pledge to make small and large changes at home, work, and school to help preserve our natural communities of life.
This is accomplished by offering programs and workshops that increase understandings of and deepen feelings for the earth and its life – extended educational experiences for students and teachers. The Cooper Center inspires individuals to develop ecologically sound practices in the Sonoran Desert and promotes partnerships between the University of Arizona, southern Arizona schools, and the local community to help prepare educators to better integrate environmental learning and sustainable practices in the classroom.
Our Vision & Your Role
The Cooper Center for Environmental Learning aspires to be a community-based center that offers programs and experiences for learners of all ages. Our current field trip experiences provide opportunities for positive natural world encounters with a focus on the basics of ecological systems. Cooper’s programs provide experiences that cannot be taught in the classroom, while also developing life skills that allow each learner to live more lightly on the Earth.
To realize our Vision, the Cooper Center is building a stronger financial foundation, where university, community and school district resources are strengthened by forward-thinking, environmentally-concerned individuals like you. To maximize our effectiveness, the Cooper Center needs passionate, highly-skilled staff to carry out our programs to the fullest extent of their potential.
“Inspiring Environmental Leaders since 1964”
Over 130,000 students have experienced the Cooper Center’s programs since teachers first started bringing their students in 1964, and each year, another 3,000 or more participants connect to their environment in new and exciting ways. The center is powered by a groundbreaking partnership between Tucson Unified School District, who owns the facility, and the University of Arizona’s College of Education, who manages the programs that Cooper facilitates. This partnership, between two of Arizona’s oldest and most successful educational institutions, ensures that the Cooper Center’s future is stable. The center is unique in Southern Arizona as the only overnight facility in the Sonoran Desert itself and in the ways that we bring together teachers, school children, and future teachers in that setting.
The need for strong, influential environmental leaders in our communities has never been more important, and Cooper is at the forefront of this field in Southern Arizona. Your philanthropic commitment will ensure that the Cooper Center is poised to take advantage of the opportunities in environmental learning that are emerging.
All donations are tax deductible as charitable giving. They are not eligible for the Arizona Tax Credit for schools, but we will be collecting Arizona Tax Credit donations in the fall to support field trip costs for teachers and students.
Allows a child to spend the night at Cooper and covers costs for educational staff! A gift of this amount will give you and your family web page recognition and an invitation to a special donor recognition event at the Cooper Center.
Camp Cooper is finishing its 52nd year of experiences and there are 52 weeks in a year! Why not celebrate the occasion by giving $1 a week in support? A gift of this amount will give you and your family web page recognition and an invitation to a special donor recognition event at the Cooper Center.
Have you or a member of your family been involved in a Camp Cooper field trip? Give a gift to honor the memory of that experience. A gift of this amount will give you and your family web page recognition and an invitation to a special donor recognition event at the Cooper Center.
Named for Cooper's amazing 3-day program for 4th and 5th graders, you will be supporting the hiring of a passionate environmental educator to lead magical experiences, teach key ecological concepts, and help each student make personal changes to live more lightly on the earth. For giving at this level, you and your family will be featured in the Cooper newsletter, along with web page recognition and a special invitation to a donor event at the Cooper Center.
Show your strong dedication to the mission, values, and vision of the Cooper Center! For giving at this level, you will receive a behind-the-scenes tour of the center with Cooper Director Colin Waite during the program of your choice, a feature in the Cooper newsletter, along with web page recognition and a special invitation to a donor event at the Cooper Center.
