KOA Care Camps On Business And Personal Motivations For CSR

This article is part of a series on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that features RV Industry Association members who are leading the way with impressive CSR efforts in our industry. Over the next three weeks, we will hear from KOA Care Camps on how to get started with a CSR program and how to use it to engage with employees. Owner of Utility Supply Group and Chairman of the Board of KOA Care Camps Wade Elliott, along with KOA Care Camp consultant’s SVP of Diversity & Inclusion Angela Hayes and SVP of Brodeur Partners Lauren Levinson, share personal and business motivations for CSR programs as we kick off this mini-series. Check it out!

WHAT IS KOA CARE CAMPS?
Founded in 1984, KOA Care Camps supports more than 140 free summer camping experience programs for children across America who are battling cancer. In 2018 alone, these camps allowed more than 42,000 children to experience the great outdoors, surrounded by other kids who have gone through similar experiences, to better cope with the unbelievable difficulties that they face as they fight a cancer diagnosis.

“KOA Care Camps are helping some of our communities’ hardest hit families. And the RV industry is really stepping up by helping to create more opportunities for kids diagnosed with cancer to experience the healing nature of camping. Once you see how it helps these kids to just be kids, it makes you want to get involved.” – Wade Elliott

Partnerships between the RV industry and KOA Care Camps have been a natural fit to which several companies have established meaningful long-term relationships supporting the program. These companies include: Dometic Corp.; CWRV Transport, LLC; RV Business; Thor Industries and Lippert Components.

PERSONAL MOTIVATION FOR CSR PROGRAMS
Whether its providing opportunities for  kids with cancer to experience  the great outdoors, building accessibility enhanced RVs, or focusing on sustainable environmental practices, CSR programs align extremely well with the RV industry. From a personal level, being a part of something that is doing good for others simply feels great and satisfies the human spirit. This is why it is easy to see how people are drawn to support programs such as KOA Care Camps – whether they have had a child battle cancer, are a survivor themselves, or know someone who has gone through this struggle, cancer can have a wide-reaching impact within families and their communities.

BUSINESS MOTIVATION FOR CSR PROGRAMS
The personal motivation isn’t the only reason to have a CSR program. Buyers are 75 percent more likely to buy from a company with CSR or philanthropy involvement that aligns with their values. It’s to a company’s advantage to show consumers that they put a high value on CSR. In the example of KOA Care Camps, there is a direct link between the future of the RV market and sending kids out to experience nature and camping. By tying together a CSR program that is engaging the next generation of RVers and providing an admirable service to kids with cancer, KOA Care Camps has found a CSR program that satisfies both personal and business motivations.

Next week, we continue our discussion with KOA Care Camps with a focus on how to get started with a CSR program!

Are there CSR initiatives underway at your company? Would you like those efforts to be featured in an upcoming RV Industry Association spotlight in this series? Contact Ashley Brinkman at abrinkman@rvia.org with the government affairs team today to start a discussion!