Meet Volunteers Lily and Julia from Abercrombie and Fitch
At Roundup River Ranch, we like to say that we run on people power. The laughs, the smiles, and the cheers of encouragement are all made possible by the people that dedicate their time, their support, and their enthusiasm to our camp and campers.
Over the years, Abercrombie & Fitch has been a dedicated supporter and valued partner of both SeriousFun Children’s Network and Roundup River Ranch. Each year, they generously provide camp t-shirts for our staff, campers, and volunteers – themed shirts that have become a fun and recognizable part of the camp experience. They also support our annual S’more Camp T-Shirt Challenge, which we launch every fall on social media to bring our community together, spread camp spirit, and raise funds to support camp.
Beyond these incredible contributions, Abercrombie & Fitch also empowers its corporate employees with the time and resources to volunteer at Roundup River Ranch each year during our Summer Camp sessions. Their commitment allows their employees to experience The Power of Camp firsthand while making a meaningful difference in the lives of our campers and families. We are incredibly grateful for the many ways Abercrombie & Fitch continues to show up for Roundup River Ranch and help make more camp experiences possible for the children and families we serve.
This year, volunteers Lily and Julia traveled all the way to Roundup from the Abercrombie & Fitch corporate office in Colombus, Ohio -where Lily does Merchandising and Julia does Visual Merchandising.. They first learned about the Seriousfun Children’s Network through A&F, found out about Roundup River Ranch through our website, and applied to volunteer as Cabin Leaders during our final Summer Camp Session.
As first-time Roundup River Ranch volunteers, Lily and Julia were both pleasantly delighted by their experience.
“This was kind of the first time I’d done something like this, and so it was just a big learning curve, and I was very impressed by the way the campers handled themselves and were also meeting me with such grace,” Lily shared.
Julia was most astounded by the staff and their dedication to camp. “Everybody is exactly where they are meant to be, and the fact that people come here, live here for an entire summer, live and breathe camp, it was amazing for me to feel comfortable here and just to know what I was doing.”
Experiencing moments like these for the first time is part of The Power of Camp, and these volunteers got to see it the magic play out for their campers as well.
“I saw some girls who rode on a horse for the first time or got to go boating for the first time, and that was beautiful,” Lily said about the campers in her cabin – the oldest female-identifying cabin.
For Julia, one of the most impactful moments was the closing ceremony. While she loved the nighttime activities that her youngest girls cabin dove into – braiding each other’s hair and singing bedtime songs – closing ceremony was something that she will hold close to her heart for years to come.
“I felt that everything, all the emotions, all the memories, came to a close there and it was a lot of reflection on how I impacted the kids this week and how they impacted me. That was beautiful and emotional,” Julia reflected.
Whether it was doing something for the first time, or looking back on the end of a transformative week, these volunteers walked away from their time as Cabin Leaders with an appreciation for the courage and joy their campers showed them every day.
They both emphasized the importance of kids with life-altering diagnoses being able to attend camps like Roundup River Ranch, saying, “Being able to be independent and really give yourself the opportunity to do activities that maybe you wouldn’t have access to in your day-to-day… it really gives you the chance to grow and to really learn what you’re capable of, regardless of your diagnosis.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Learn more about volunteer opportunities at Roundup River Ranch here.
