Camp Glimmer: Joy, Learning and Belonging in Nature

August 18, 2025

Each summer at Candlelight Ranch, Camp Glimmer arrives with anticipation and excitement. Thanks to Glimmer|Austin, children and families step out of daily stress and into an inclusive Hill Country sanctuary where the pace slows, courage grows, and fun thrives. Each summer at the Ranch Glimmer|Austin sponsors Camp Glimmer so youth from under-resourced Austin communities can experience the joy of summer camp, a special time to laugh with friends, try something new, and be kids.

This year’s circle of partners stretched across Austin, including River City Youth Foundation, Jeremiah Program, Ortega ACE afterschool community, Boys & Girls Club, Integral Care, SAFE, the George Morales Dove Springs Recreation Center, Todos Juntos, CHANGE 1, the Central Texas Tennis Association, Helping Hand Home, Central Texas Table of Grace, Girl Forward, and iACT. Our campers carry many stories, families rebuilding after violence, teens in or aging out of foster care, single mothers and children finding their footing, refugee families finding stability, children managing anxiety or developmental differences, parents working two jobs and still stretching to make ends meet. From the moment the bus doors swing open to end-of-day celebrations and a cool-down in Chillville, you can watch campers transform from shy and unsure to confident learners, scaling the rock wall, speaking up in groups, and raising eager hands on the nature hike.

The day unfolds in small, powerful steps. A camper who’s nervous at check-in walks the trail and says softly, “Nature is gorgeous when you are in it, and it calms you.” Another discovers during a team challenge, “People are more accepting than I initially believed.” A quiet teen clips in for the zip line and, though scared, leaps from the platform, later reflecting, “It’s okay to try things even if you’re afraid.” Later, the same teen laughs with new friends: “Doing activities helped me be outgoing… some stuff may be scary, but it’s fun and beautiful.” Ninety-seven percent of participants tell us they learned something new, growth that can be measured, but also see on their faces as they board the bus, a little taller than they arrived.

One of our favorite moments involved a mother and her six-year-old daughter, who joined through the Jeremiah Program. In the garden, the little one fell in love with the giant beefsteak tomato, cradling it all afternoon so she and her mother could be sure to eat it for dinner. She chased butterflies and confidently climbed the rock wall with a dream: to “fly to the top.” She did, ringing the bell at the top of the tower to cheers and rappelling into her mom’s arms. “I’m so proud of you,” her mother said, and later, her daughter confessed, “I always wanted a day like this all to myself with Mom.” It’s the kind of simple memory that echoes long after the tents are packed away.

Our partners also bring extraordinary leaders, such as Courtney Jones, founder of CHANGE 1, whose lived experience of ten years in foster care across 25 different placements; compassionately informs a program that meets youth with both accountability and love. Watching campers from CHANGE 1 encourage one another through the high elements is to see leadership take root in real time. With the steady hand of a staff member at the belay, a voice calling, “You’ve got this,” and a smile when the climber steps back to earth. That lesson travels far beyond the ranch: you are capable, you belong, and your future is bright.

All day long, the learning is layered with laughter. A silly icebreaker becomes a breakthrough in confidence. A quiet pause at Jerri’s Serinity Spring becomes a shared experience. As one camper said best, “Nature connects us.” For families facing crisis, these hours offer dignity and normalcy, as they work together, enjoy a meal outdoors, and celebrate many wins together. For children navigating fear or change, they provide safe opportunities to practice bravery with a trusted adult nearby.

This is what Glimmer|Austin makes possible: a community-wide investment that ripples through many neighborhoods and many lives. By sponsoring Camp Glimmer at Candlelight Ranch, Glimmer|Austin ensures that kids from across Austin, single-mom families striving for college degrees, refugee and immigrant youth building new beginnings, children healing from trauma, and teens in foster care regaining confidence can spend a day in nature discovering what they’re made of. The result is simple and profound: more joy, more learning, more connection, and a steadier sense of self to carry back into daily life.

To Glimmer|Austin, to every partner organization, and to all our volunteers who showed up with courage and heart: thank you. The children and families of Camp Glimmer shine because of you.