$287k grant hopes to bring free safety resources to Hill Country Youth camps

A new grant awarded to nonprofit The Safety Navigator is aimed at bringing Texas Hill Country camps together for the purpose of developing and testing safety resources, according to a statement from the camp safety platform.  The $287,000 grant was provided by the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country awarded through the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund.  The goal is to make these resources available nationwide, the statement said.

Camps participating in the funded program will be given the following free activities and resources:

~A comprehensive safety training program for camp directors, leadership and seasonal staff, covering material risks such as aquatics, transportation and emergency response

~Summer Content Series capturing and sharing safety work underway across the camps in the Hill Country

~A locally-hired Hill Country Program Coordinator, giving every participating camp a single point of contact

~End-of-season reviews with Hill Country camp leaders to capture what worked and what needs strengthening

~A Transportation Safety Toolkit addressing vehicle use, staff driving rules as well as vetting bus and charter companies

~A Hill Country Drill Package, including new drills as well as facilitated tabletop exercises built around region-specific hazards

~Hill Country edition of the Safety Navigator’s AI-assisted risk assessment tool, which adds region-specific risk categories and controls

~An AI-powered Emergency Action Plan builder to coach camps through building a custom emergency response plan

The Safety Navigator says they plan to use what proves valuable in this program for their nationwide expansion, which the nonprofit hopes to make available to any camp at no additional cost.  The Safety Navigator was founded shortly after the severe flash flooding on July 4, 2025.  The nonprofit says it is the first “comprehensive, free, technology-enabled safety platform built specifically for the camp industry.”