As the 2025 Camp Dawes season ends, The Dawes Arboretum (Dawes) continues to make accessibility to nature-based education a priority. Through scholarships, grants, community programs and partnerships, we strive to expand opportunities for children and families who face financial or housing challenges. Here’s how we’ve made an impact since the end of the 2020 pandemic:
Camp Scholarships
More than $6,500 has been privately donated toward camp scholarships, helping children attend Camp Dawes regardless of financial limitations.
Field Trip Scholarships
Over $2,000 worth of donated funds has been used to support schools with a high percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunch. This funding helps lower the cost of field trips so more students can participate in Dawes programs.
ACE Ohio Participation
Through the Ohio Afterschool Child Enrichment (ACE) program, Dawes has hosted more than 150 students who have received funding to take part in enrichment which support learning outside the classroom.
Learning Boxes
Over 800 learning boxes have been created and distributed by Dawes staff to students facing housing instability. These boxes, funded through grants, provide hands-on educational materials and activities for learning at home.
Newark Townhomes Programming
In partnership with Newark Townhomes, Dawes has provided 15 programs, distributed over 250 summer learning boxes, and welcomed 20 local children to Camp Dawes.
Through these accessibility efforts, it is the aim of The Dawes Arboretum to remove barriers and make our programming available to more children and families in our community. To learn more about educational programs at Dawes, visit the Learn website tab at dawesarb.org!