" When I first came to La Foret in the summer of 1994, I was lost. In many ways, I still am, but age 12 was especially rough. I'd just moved to Colorado Springs from Ventura, CA, and was sad and lonely and probably filled with angst. I had zero friends and zero idea of how to feel at home. So, my parents signed me and my sister up for camp. 

Six years later, I was a MADD Camp Senior, and I couldn't imagine having never discovered La Foret. It's no exaggeration to say it was the single-most important experience in my youth. I'd forged extremely close friendships that I maintain to this day. I'd been inspired to follow a path that would lead to Doane University (née College), counseling & directing MADD Camp for 10 years, and eventually returning to work at the RMCUCC as Director of Communications. 

Most importantly, I'd been affirmed, which is no easy task for a teenager. Before La Foret, I was deeply insecure and terrified of not being accepted. Going to camp there taught me that I didn't need to pretend to be someone else to be cared for; I could be loved for who I was, and could even grow even become a leader. (That's the secret of the place; adults may program and watch over, but the youth set the example that matters.) 

The truths I learned there guide me to this day, and I am glad to give back to this transcendentally spiritual and developmentally meaningful place. "