Our Crowdfunding Groups
The Cooper Center for Environmental Learning, which many of you know as “Camp Cooper,” is an incredible educational partnership between the University of Arizona College of Education and Tucson Unified School District (TUSD).
Since 1964, more than 130,000 kids have walked our trails, engaged in hands-on learning about our desert plants and animals as a way to explore broader concepts in science and better understand how all of us impact our planet. We are Tucson's only residential overnight environmental educational camp, a mere 20 minute drive from downtown Tucson.
For fall 2020, the Cooper Center will not be hosting our traditional in person field trips in our efforts to keep our students, teachers, volunteers and staff safe during the pandemic. To continue our work and adapt to the times, we have created two new unique online Camp Cooper programs - Camp Cooper Online and Camp Cooper Live - designed especially for Tucson elementary school students.
We're excited to report that our new preschool and high school education programs are nearing the pilot phase. We are working closely with classroom teachers and volunteers and planning to pilot the programs when our in-person experiences at camp start up again.
In addition, we are finalizing plans for improvements to our campus to help us serve more students in the years to come. We fully expect that Tucson students' need for Camp Cooper experiences will be greater than ever in the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021.
In 2018-2019, the Cooper Center served over 3,000 students with day and overnight trips at Camp Cooper, making it our biggest year since we started our annual crowdfunding campaigns. 2019-2020 was on track to surpass these numbers, but we saw our numbers drop as we adapted to the pandemic. Our education team quickly pivoted to providing online content about science, ecology - uniquely suited to our audience and our geography - connecting with hundreds of kids in the Tucson area over the summer.
The truth is, there has never been a more important time to give what you can to keep the Cooper Center strong, building upon the successes of the recent past, and helping to extend our impact to more students in the years to come. We invite you to watch our video above and consider a donation at whatever level you can.
Crowdfunding helps us bridge our fundraising gap and will support retaining Cooper staff for 2020-2021
Your gifts make our work possible, including these three important new programs.
BYOB to a truly happy hour of entertainment from Tucson musicians, artists and educators. Hosted by Cooper director Colin Waite, our Happy Hour live stream event will stream on our website, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube on Friday, September 18th starting at 5:30pm. Registration is FREE! Grab your All Access Live Stream pass today!
Crooked Tooth Brewery offering 50% off beer for anyone who RSVPs for this event!
Share your support for Camp Cooper on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or by emailing this link: www.campcooper.org
All donations are tax deductible.
Cooper Center is also a setting for published research on environmental learning.
We give education majors and other students at the UA opportunities to work with kids and teach in an outdoor setting, inspiring them to seek out careers in the field.
Each gift is important, no matter the size!
Fund a Camp Cooper Online educational experience for one student.
Allows a child to spend the night at Cooper and covers costs for educational staff!
Camp Cooper has been serving students for 56 years. Help us keep providing students a unique educational experience for many years to come.
Named for Cooper's amazing 3-day program for 4th and 5th graders, you will be fully supporting 2 students' Camp Cooper experience!
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 Camp Cooper with Cooper Center Director Colin Waite during the program of your choice, as well as donor recognition and a special invitation to our annual donor and teacher celebration event.
