Greenville, OH – The Light Foundation, co-founded by three-time Super Bowl champion Matt Light and his wife Susie, is preparing for its fifth annual Timber Frame Leadership Camp at Chenoweth Trails from July 16th to 19th, 2023. The nonprofit’s mission is to take young people out of their everyday environments and provide them with unique opportunities that ignite their passion, purpose, and motivation to succeed.
This year’s Timber Frame Leadership Camp, one of the Foundation’s flagship Leadership Academy programs, will be attended by more than twenty young adults approaching high school grade levels. The three-day camp will take place at the Chenoweth Trails, the Foundation’s 500-acre facility in Light’s hometown of Greenville, Ohio.
The Camp was developed by Matt Light and his team as a STEAM-based leadership program geared towards educating youth about the ancient art of timber framing. In years past, campers would turn standing trees into a complete three-dimensional structure with the help of skilled instructors. Last year, they built a 3-story bell tower, the previous year a 40-foot covered bridge, and before that – an elevated treehouse. This year, the focus is more one-on-one individualized instruction, but the lessons are equally important. As Light notes, “They learn the safe use of power tools, how to translate drawings, and work collaboratively with one another. Through specialized hands-on skill development, our campers gain self-confidence and a personal sense of achievement and mastery that they can carry with them into other aspects of their lives.”
Each day of camp will feature hands-on learning and building activities, including a trip to Historic Bear’s Mill, a visit to Frank Miller Lumber, the tear down and deconstruction of an old barn, and lots of one-on-one skill-building.
The group of campers, which include both young men and women, will craft their very own sawhorses to take home at the end of the program. This will allow attendees to learn the building process from start to finish and in the process create something new, giving them a sense of ownership and pride. In addition, the campers will listen to guest speakers, including a demonstration given by Paul Cleveland from tool company giant Chervon on the importance of the proper and safe use of power tools.
After wrapping up their daily activities, the youth will enjoy fishing, swimming, and more! The group will come together and end the night with a fireside talk and games. This overall theme of the camp is leadership, and there will be multiple opportunities for the participants to collaborate and compete to win certain challenges during their stay.
Attendees will be coming from all over Ohio and as far away as New England! Southern Massachusetts is thrilled to be sending Ryan Levesque, a rising sophomore from Apponequet High School, Bristol Plymouth High School sophomore, Joseph Benevides, incoming Xaverian High School freshman Tyler Haynes, and Christisan Farmer who will be joining the camp for the third year in a row!
Light is anxious to kick-off camp next week, following a lot of hard work and months of preparation for this event. “We’ll focus on teaching these young men and women the literal building blocks of timber framing. There will be multiple opportunities for them to acquire leadership skills, and it will be awesome to see it all come together,” he concludes. “We love that this year, they get to take home something they created at Timber Frame Leadership Camp.”
The camp would not be possible without the support from area businesses. The sponsors for the Timber Frame Leadership Camp are: JCM Timberworks, Lowe’s, Kobalt, EGO, Flex, Skil, Kline Timber Company, Barn & Cabin Friend, Kustom Woodworking & Cabinetry, Moose Co., Ansonia Lumber, Frank Miller Lumber, Historic Bear’s Mill, Gordon Food, Montage, W. Walsh Comp, Inc, and Papa Johns.
“These sponsors understand how passionate we are about teaching young people useful skills and we appreciate how they continually step up to help us make an impact,” adds Light. “All of our sponsors help us live our mission and we are extremely appreciative of their support!” Many individuals donate their time for the duration of the three day camp as a way to pass down the knowledge of their craftsman skills.
For more information about the Light Foundation or the Chenoweth Trails facility, visit their website: mattlight72.com or their social media channels: @lightfoundation.
About the Light Foundation:
The Light Foundation (mattlight72.com) was established in 2001 by three-time Super Bowl Champion and three-time Pro-Bowler Matt Light, and his wife, Susie. The Light Foundation strives to instill and augment the values of responsibility, accountability, and hard work by providing youth with unique outdoor learning experiences that assist them in reaching their highest potential. Its goal is to lead young people down a path to becoming responsible members of their communities who can pass on the torch of leadership and achievement to their friends and families. Light was drafted in 2001 out of Purdue University and was the anchor for the Patriots offensive line for more than a decade, before retiring in 2012. He received the third New England Patriots Ron Burton Community Service Award in 2005, and in 2008, was presented the President’s Volunteer Service Award for his outstanding work in the community by the Bush administration. In 2012, Light was named Pop Warner’s Humanitarian of the Year, in 2014, was honored with All Sports United’s Humanitarian Award, and in 2015 received the Man of the Year award from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s New England chapter. In 2018, Light was named to the Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list, and in 2019, was also named to the publication’s “Power 50” lineup. Matt Light was also inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame in 2018. Since its inception in 2001, the Light Foundation has raised more than $7 million for various programs and initiatives.