Changes ’n Gratitude
We have updates to report and many thanks to give. We are grateful for the support of so many of you. Our “Casting Hope” event featuring Elizabeth Smart was a big success. It was a special night with record attendance and donations raised. And it was a night filled with inspiration.
On River Time exists to help create a dramatic pivot for kids who have suffered abuse and neglect, to speak life into them, and let them know THEY can define their future and not be defined by a painful past. Elizabeth Smart is a living example of this. After escaping a harrowing nine month kidnapping, she now is an advocate for others. She made a choice years ago to not let her captors steal her joy. Her message was powerful, inspiring, and one of hope.
The picture above is Elizabeth with On River Time camper, Scarlet. Scarlet first attended On River Time camp at the age of 12. This summer she served as one of our peer mentors and was also one of our scholarship recipients. She grew up at Big Oak Ranch and is now a freshman at Samford University and also our intern! Scarlet shares her thoughts about the event:
"As a lot of you know we had Elizabeth Smart as our keynote speaker and she did an incredible job. She shared her story with us and life principles she learned through that time. She was gracious enough to do a meet and greet before dinner which was thoroughly enjoyed. As a child of On River Time, it was so humbling to see all of the people who attended the event. On River Time goes to another level in my heart when I see all of the people behind the scenes, the supporters, and people like you. One thing that stood out to me the most was the intentionality of the event. Supporters really are there for the kids and that was so evident. Everything that night was so relational in every aspect from eating together to fellowshipping and meeting others. When I had the opportunity to come to the event I knew I wanted to come so bad but this year exceeded my expectations. The sense of community around the room is what makes On River Time what it is and how it changes lives. It means so much to know that people care." -Scarlet, 18
We are so grateful for Elizabeth, our sponsors, our attendees, and everyone who helped to make Casting Hope such a wonderful success! Special thanks goes to Liberty Mutual- Ironshore for being our title sponsor.
As for our changes, On River Time now has a new look after undergoing a complete rebranding. At the Casting Hope event, we unveiled our new logo by Russ Grimes which was designed based on an actual image of an On River Time camper fishing on the Snake River. We also unveiled this new website, created by Lot 22. And a beautiful new video by Lantern Vision to help tell our story (above). Watch to learn how the On River Time camp completely changed the trajectory of Lorenza's life.
As always, we are grateful for your support. Please follow us on social media and share with others. You are making a real difference in the lives of some amazing kids! We are grateful for you!