Send a kid to camp

It is well-established that childhood participation in sports and wellness activities leads to a myriad of benefits including physical fitness, better school performance, and enhanced socials skills. Research even shows a correlation between youth participation in sports and increased likelihood of attending college.

honor a hero

The namesake of Chad’s Champions, Chadwick T. Kenyon, was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. An avid sports participant in his childhood, he went on to serve his country in the United States Navy. In 2006, Chad was tragically killed in action. Chad’s Champions honors Chadwick’s bravery, dedication to his community, his legacy, and love for sports.

financial support for families in need

“Chad and I knew the struggles of paying for organized sports but the benefits far outweighed any cost. I don’t want families to have to struggle financially to be able to send their children to play sports and miss out on a long, lasting experience.” -Chad’s Mom

make a positive impact on the community

Studies have shown that active kids do better in life. They are 15% more likely to go to college, have up to 40% higher test scores, are 90% more likely to not be obese, have lower rates of drug and alcohol abuse, and tend to be more productive at school and work.

With the critical support of our fundraisers and partner organizations, we’ve been able to send low-income youth to an array of sports and wellness camps including:

• Tommy Lloyd Arizona Basketball Camp (For boys)

• Adia Barnes Basketball Camp (For girls)

• Yoga4Youth - Yoga Classes

• YMCA Choose Your Adventure Camp

• JCC Summer Camp

In addition to the camps we have been honored to be supported by Quail Run Elementary School and their efforts to fundraise enough money to fill a shopping cart full of sports equipment to help us donate to low-income families in the Southern Arizona community.

Gabrial, Joseph, & Isaac

My name is Denise Camacho. My three kids were at the camp: Gabriel, Joseph and Isaac. We want to thank Chad’s family for giving my kids the opportunity to be there. They loved it. They learned a lot of different skills. I loved to hear them talk about the camp to each other and talk about the new friends they met at the camp. It was the best experience ever :). Thank you again. God bless your family.

Sincerely, 

Peña Family

Braiden

Braiden has increased his love of basketball.  As we talked on the final day, it was such a tremendous experience for him to actually play and score a basket in McKale Center!  Brady enjoyed the camp so much, that he wants to return next year and earn one of the awards from Coach Miller.  He setup a plan with his grandfather and has started doing chores at their house to save money to pay his way to camp!  Braiden keeps the autographed basketball on a shelf above the head of his bed so its the first thing he sees when he wakes up, and the last thing he sees when he goes to sleep.  Thank you for allowing our son to participate in your friends Chad's honor!

Matt Van Derlaske (Braiden’s Dad)

Iyanna

We had the honor to meet Bri at Coach Barnes' summer camp. Both Bri and Coach Barnes were extremely welcoming and their passion for not only the game but also the community and wanting to help Chad's Champions out was special to see. Coach has since invited Iyanna to be a ball girl during this season. We're lucky to have formed a great relationship with an inspiring and dedicated group of leaders! - Joey DeLaRosa

taylor

Taylor had camp last week and I can't even begin to express how much he loved it! The coaching staff ass absolutely amazing.

I cannot say Thank You enough for selecting Taylor for the scholarship. Each morning before he went we would say a prayer for Chad and his Mother, along with all the other service men and women that protect our country. - Taylor’s Mom