Experience Camps in Texas 2026

Experience Camps, founded in 2009, is a national, no-cost program for grieving children who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling or primary caregiver. Their one-week, overnight grief support summer camps, year-round programs and online resources reframe the experience of grief and empower kids with coping skills to move forward with their lives after loss. Lauren Zima has been on a mission to bring Experience Camps to Texas for years. Her work and fundraising efforts, from events to her wedding registry when she married Chris Harrison two years ago, has helped to make that mission successful. Experience Camps Texas is confirmed to be coming to Camp Champions in Marble Falls beginning summer 2026. Lauren and Chris are returning to Ranch Austin, where they got married, to co-host a gala, which will be co-chaired by Stephanie Coultress O’Neill and Todd O’Neilll, to further support Experience Camps on October 23. “We want this night to be unforgettable, because Experience Camps is an organization that changes lives forever,” Lauren shared, adding, “The gala will be on par with the powerful work that ExCamps does for kids. We'll hear from some of the children, have amazing local Texas food and drinks, and we have an awesome band. I want to dance the night away and raise a ton of money for this cause. Experience Camps' philosophy is that the grief experience is the human experience: it contains both laughter and tears, and the gala will do that too.” Tickets, tables and sponsorship for the gala are available here https://e.givesmart.com/events/Jrn/ Future campers and volunteers can apply for the Texas programs starting in November on Experience Camps' website. “Most of the volunteers in our programs have also lost someone, so when kids are at Experience Camps, they feel at ease in their grief,” Lauren says. “At camp, they're surrounded by other kids and adults who 'get it,' understand their pain, and they can relate, build bonds, and have fun again.”