Bluffton/Fort Wayne South KOA offering free night of camping

9th Annual Event Also Fundraising for KOA Care Camps for Children With Cancer 

The Bluffton/Fort Wayne South KOA Campground, located at 1625 W Lancaster St in Bluffton, is offering a free night of camping on Saturday, May 12 to all campers who stay at the campground as paying guests on Friday, May 11 as part of KOA’s 9th Annual Come Kamp & Care With Us Weekend.

Thousands of North American camping families will be headed to their favorite Kampgrounds of America locations for this very special weekend, the official start of the 2012 summer camping season.

Last year, more than 25,000 camping families stayed at nearly 400 participating KOA campgrounds in the U.S. and Canada. The event, created in 2004, provides a free night of camping on Saturday, May 12, to all campers staying as paying guests on Friday, May 11.

KOA campgrounds have several fun events planned that are designed to both entertain campers, and help raise funds to support KOA Care Camps, a system of 44 specialized summer camps around North America that provide a true summer camp experience for children with cancer and their siblings. Last year, more than $370,000 was raised during the Come Kamp & Care With Us event to benefit KOA Care Camps.

“This event has become the official start to the summer camping season for thousands of camping families in North America,” said KOA CEO Jim Rogers. “It is a wonderful way to reconnect with friends and family, give camping a try, or just pull your RV out to your local KOA and get it ready for a fun summer camping season. At the same time, you get to help raise funds to send some very deserving children to a much needed summer camp.”

Campers can to go www.KOA.com to see a list of participating campgrounds and make their reservations. Some campgrounds will be offering their KOA Cabins and Deluxe Cabins for the event, so campers are encouraged not to wait to make their reservations.

KOA is also celebrating its 50th birthday in 2012. As part of that anniversary, campers can enter to win a free Keystone Vantage recreational vehicle. Go to www.KOAKompass.com to enter today.

Other official sponsors of KOA Care Camps for children with cancer include:

• Allstate RV Roadhelp, the only roadside assistance plan endorsed by KOA. For a free quote for all of your RV insurance needs, call 800-214-5135.
• Cabela’s, the world’s foremost outfitter. Cabela’s invites all outdoor enthusiasts to its own May event, Let’s Go Camping, May 1-13 at Cabela’s store locations across North America. Go to www.cabelas.com for more information. 

Kampgrounds of America, founded on the banks of the Yellowstone River in Billings, Montana in 1962, is now the world’s largest system of open-to-the-public family campgrounds. KOA has 485 locations in the United States and Canada.