About

Mission Statement

Camp Sparky's mission is to inspire youth to love learning and have confidence in their future success as well as develop awareness and leadership among our members.

Activities

  • Themed Day Camps at Title I elementary schools in Tempe, Phoenix, and Mesa
  • ASU Camps to introduce fifth graders to a college campus
  • Big Camp, a three-day long extended camp in northern Arizona with Flora Thew Elementary School
  • Membership Development events to promote a sense of community and cohesiveness among members
  • Annual Silent Auction to raise funds for Big Camp
  • Other fundraising activities such as car washes, merchandising at football games, and holiday wish lists at local school supply stores

History of Camp Sparky

I must admit that the idea for Camp Sparky wasn't completely novel.  The vision began on a ski lift to the top of Cyclone Mountain in January 1997.  My chair-mates were Parmi Suchdev and Mark Zietzer from the UofA.  They were a couple of hard-core Camp Wildcatters and not surprisingly our conversation drifted to their club.

They spoke with passion.  They spoke from the heart.  By the time we reached the top of the mountain it was clear that Camp Wildcat was not just another organization, but rather, a force in the Tucson community with a membership committed to helping kids.  Why didn't something like this exist at ASU?  I spent the remainder of the day skiing with Parmi and Mark, and by day's end, I was committed to the idea of starting a CW analogue at ASU before I graduated. 

Despite being jazzed about laying the groundwork for the new organization, I found myself over-committed in the spring of 1997.  So, I spent the summer in conversation with my friends from Camp Wildcat and began to formulate a plan for hitting the ground running in the fall semester.

You've Got to Start Somewhere

It wasn’t until October that things really got cooking.  Camp Wildcat invited me and any my friends to the Big Diversity Camp.  It was to be a weekend in the woods atop Mount Lemon with a group of about 80 kids.  I couldn’t think of a better way to find a critical mass for starting the new organization than to convince more Sun Devils to head south with me to shadow the CW Camp.  So I made a few calls and by the end of that fateful day, I had recruited Kim Rice, Nina Huerta, and Travis Warner—the first members of “The club at ASU that is like this club at the UofA that helps kids”. 

Fired Up

I can’t even begin to describe how powerful that weekend was.  It surpassed every expectation that I about how great it would be to work with kids.  Kim Rice was so impressed that she “wanted to transfer to the UofA”.  But she didn’t.  Instead, she, Nina, Travis and I started a massive recruiting movement at ASU and within a couple of weeks had the first “Camp Sparky” meeting.

Using testimonials from our experiences in Tucson, we shared the vision with about thirty-five others in the McClintock Hall TV Lounge.  It was successful!  The new membership was excited and ready to go.  There was still much groundwork to be laid and precedent to be set—and that is what happened for the remainder of the semester.  By the time I left for Australia in mid-February CS was preparing for the first Day Camp ever.

Leaving Again

Leaving CS and the beginning of something great was the hardest thing about my semester abroad.  There’s always a bit of a tendency among leaders to think that things will fall apart when they leave.  And to be perfectly honest, I had a few of those thoughts when I departed.  But like in most cases, my fears were completely unfounded.  By the conclusion of the spring semester more than a year’s worth of ruminations were realized.  CS existed at ASU and by helping kids was on the road to becoming a force in the greater Phoenix community. 

Now, a year and four Day Camps later I’m fixin’ to leave again—for good.  This departure, however, is one without anxiety.  Why?  I am incredibly impressed with every person in the organization.  Talk about an amazing Freshman class in particular!!!  We are still a young organization and there is plenty of room for improvement.  But as I prepare to step down as Director, I have no doubt that Camp Sparky will be around twenty years from now—largely because of the people who will take the organization to new levels in the next five years.

I’ve always said that the success of Camp Sparky depends on the passion and creativity of the membership involved.  Everyone this year has redefined what it means to be each of those things.  Thanks to each and everyone of you for helping make a vision a reality.  GOOD LUCK!!! 

Brent Maddin
Founder of Camp Sparky
Director of Teaching and Learning at Teacher University in New York City, NY
(Biology & Society major, ASU Class of 1999)