Sandy and Laura Sanborn Scholarship

The Scholarship Fund provides tuition assistance to deserving young people who could not otherwise attend Big Spring or High Trails. Awards are also made to schools which attend High Trails Outdoor Education Center to enable low-income students to participate in the residential program with their classes.

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Request a Scholarship

Applications and their accompanying references must be completed and received by December 1st of the previous camp season. Scholarships are typically awarded during December.

Your application will be considered complete when you have completed our online Scholarship Application Form, submitted all required IRS forms, appropriate camper statements and, if you are a new camper, have submitted the appropriate letters of recommendation.

Reference letters/letters of recommendation should speak to the camper’s character and their ability to live, play and learn in a diverse, nature-based, active and healthy community.

Please Call 719-748-3341 or email if you have questions about our scholarship application process.

Along with a completed scholarship application, the Scholarship Committee utilizes the following guidelines for considering scholarship applications:

  • New applicants must be current 5th-9th graders.
  • Returning camper applicants may be current 6th-10th graders.
  • There is no limit to the number of years scholarships can be awarded to one camper.
  • We do not offer scholarships for our Sanborn Junior program.

We wish to provide a Sanborn camp experience to as many children as possible, thus we appreciate the continuing support of our camp parents, alums, and staff. Along with contributing to the general scholarship fund, it is also possible to provide the tuition for a specific camper selected by the Scholarship Committee and to receive information and reports about that camper’s experience at Big Spring or High Trails. Please call Jerry McLain at 719-748-3341 for donation information or donate online.

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A Thousand Summer

Sanborn Western Camps is an Associate Camp of A Thousand Summers (formally the John Austin Cheley Foundation). The ATS funds need-based camperships for high potential youth to attend extended-stay wilderness summer camps that have a proven track record of positively impacting youth development. A Thousand Summers is a 501©(3) foundation that was established in 1989 and, since then, has provided more than 700 camperships to campers from 31 states and one foreign country.

Dates & Rates