Kentucky kickball fundraiser will benefit Special Needs Camp of Kentucky

Every $100 team entry in Kentucky's kickball fundraiser was designed to go straight to The Special Needs Camp of Kentucky, turning one afternoon of kickball into direct support for a week-long camp serving youth and adults with intellectual disabilities. The first ball was scheduled to roll at 3 p.m., and the sign-up cutoff was listed as August 15.

That simple structure mattered because the camp is not a one-off outing. Special Needs Camp of Kentucky, Inc. says it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs a week-long summer day camp for participants ages 13 and up. Campers are paired one-to-one with volunteer counselors, move through themed sessions that include investigations, arts and exercise, and get breakfasts and lunches at no cost.

Katelyn Harvey, the camp president, has said the work stretches across a wide slice of central Kentucky, with campers coming from Bath, Rowan, Montgomery, Cynthiana and Louisville. The camp is hosted at Crossroads Elementary School in Bath County, and Harvey said the school system's support is essential because the nonprofit would otherwise have nowhere to hold camp. She also said field trips are part of the draw, including stops such as the Space Science Center in Morehead, swimming and Lexington Legends games.

Harvey's connection is personal as well as practical. She said her sister has Down syndrome, and that family tie helped shape her commitment to the camp. The fundraiser's logic was clear: a $100 team fee, a fixed start time and a beneficiary named up front made it easy for churches, businesses, families and friend groups to sign on without needing a complicated setup.

The camp's own volunteer application for 2026 showed the amount of planning behind the scenes. Applications were due by May 1, with acceptance or denial letters set to go out in the second week of May. That kind of calendar explains why a kickball event can matter so much to SNCKI: it helps support the staffing, meals, outings and supervision that make the camp run each summer in Owingsville.