Our Impact: Mission Spotlight

Hearts for Respite: Fourth Graders Sending Kids to Summer Camp

School/Org Lopez Elementary
Location Fort Collins, CO
Funding Illumination Fund
Year 2019

Every year, Lopez's fourth graders plan and host a community luncheon, gifting thousands of dollars they've raised to send kids to Respite Care's wilderness camp.

Every year, fourth graders at Lopez Elementary in Fort Collins host a very special event: the Hearts for Respite Luncheon, the culmination of their Project Heart Impact Project.

Students plan and execute the luncheon themselves — connecting community members to their philanthropic work and gifting the funds they’ve raised to Respite Care. The money helps send kids to Respite Care’s Wilderness Camp, giving other young people the joy of a summer camp experience.

It’s a student-led tradition that turns a classroom lesson into real, lasting community impact.