Trunks for Bunks

Supporting children attending summer camp

Background Information

Caroline Pitfield grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and has attended The Lovett School since kindergarten. When she was 8, Caroline spent a week at YMCA Camp High Harbour, and has gone every summer since. When she was 13 years old, she began her journey as a leader in the Advanced Leadership Academy at camp, and she learned more about the scholarship campers who get to attend High Harbour each summer. Camp positively impacted Caroline and helped shape her character in formative years, so she wanted to give back. She started Trunks for Bunks and put together trunks for 18 scholarship campers.

“I wanted to give back to Camp High Harbour because camp has given me so much”

– Caroline Pitfield

Implementation of Project

In September of 2020, Caroline organized a team of four other Lovett students who also are counselors at Camp High Harbour.  She and the team brainstormed ideas of how to fundraise, and they used Instagram stories, Facebook posts, and a fundraising night at a local restaurant to raise money. They raised over $3,000 to buy supplies for trunks. Caroline ordered all of the supplies, and they went to camp to organize the supplies into individual trunks.

“Although there were challenges in my CLP, I learned a lot about organizing a group of people and being open in communicating.”

– Caroline Pitfield

Results of Project

After working from September of 2020 to January of 2021, Caroline assembled 18 trunks for less fortunate kids.  She was mainly aided by Camp High Harbour’s directors, Drew Hullinger and Aaron Zerkle, and her Lovett peers, Ciara Seminara and Lindy Benton. Between all of the people who helped, about 80 hours were put into the creation of this project. She is very excited to see campers using these trunks this upcoming summer.

“I am very proud of all of the work I put into my CLP, and I cannot wait to see scholarship campers with their own trunks this summer.”

– Caroline Pitfield

What’s Next

In the future, Caroline hopes to go to college to study political science.  She is very excited to implement her leadership skills on The Lovett School’s upcoming Junior Outdoor Experience, where she will go backpacking with 10 of her peers.  In terms of Trunks for Bunks, Caroline hopes to do the project again, but this time with a younger counselor.  She wants to teach them how to organize Trunks for Bunks, and then they will be able to take over once she goes to college.