Dream Camp began as a dream shared by its founders, Paul Raether and brothers Michael and Bill Rouse.

In 1982, at the ages of 15 and 11, Michael and Bill started a summer camp for boys and girls. As they signed up eager campers, they met a single mother of two who was struggling financially while juggling a number of jobs. Inspired by her determination, the Rouses offered her children the opportunity to attend their camp free of charge. For Michael and Bill, that summer was memorable for the sheer exuberance these two children brought to camp each day. Their excitement and enthusiasm had a strong impact on the brothers and has remained with them through today.

In 1998, Paul Raether, a friend of the Rouse brothers and a trustee at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, offered them a proposition. As one of the architects behind Trinity’s outreach programs, Mr. Raether was concerned about Hartford’s decline, which has left children disproportionately destitute and vulnerable. Hoping to create change, Mr. Raether connected the Rouse brothers with Trinity and provided the necessary support to create Dream Camp, a tuition-free program that would exclusively serve low-income, inner-city youth. 

Since then, Dream Camp has been providing children from Hartford’s poorest neighborhoods with a safe haven where they can dream of a bright future. Soon after their start in Hartford, Michael and Bill decided to seek out other places in need of Dream Camp. In 2002, the camp’s second program was launched in Philadelphia, PA. Today, Dream Camp continues to identify other potential sites in the hopes of benefiting the children of other poverty-stricken cities.