(The Center Square) – The parents of 27 girls who died at Camp Mystic, known as Heaven’s 27, have launched a statewide camp safety initiative and grant program.
They founded The Campaign for Camp Safety, saying, “From the deepest grief has come a commitment: to ensure other families never suffer the same heartbreak and preventable loss.” Their mission “is to ensure that the American tradition of summer camp continues, while avoiding preventable disasters and harm to children.”
They also launched The Safety Navigator, a free service, to help camps navigate new legal requirements and “translate safety requirements into real-world action.”
New laws and regulations “create implementation challenges,” the parents argue. “Camps juggle seasonal staffing, tight budgets, and the day-to-day realities of running a busy program. Translating new requirements into practical, everyday actions takes time, expertise, and resources that many camps don’t have in-house.” The navigator connects camp leaders with professionals and safety experts, tools, training and support to implement new safety measures, its website states.
On Wednesday, they launched a new partnership, the Safe Summers Fund, a new grant program. It’s designed to help nonprofit summer camps “make meaningful, risk-based safety improvements that protect children and strengthen camp safety systems” in compliance with new laws.
Initial seed funding for the grant program was provided by the Shalom Austin Texas Flood Relief Fund, supported by Jewish communities in Texas and nationwide, and the BBYO Jewish Youth Movement.
Grants will be awarded based on “need, risk, and readiness,” prioritizing the highest safety risks and contributing to long-term safety capability. Camps can apply through the Safety Navigator platform, review eligibility and criteria, access application guidance and more.
The state legislature implemented reforms after the July 4, 2025, flash flood killed at least 135 people in several counties, wiping out homes and devastating the Hill Country. The greatest number of deaths were reported in Kerr County of 119, including 25 campers and two counselors at Camp Mystic in Hunt.
Camps throughout the state are in the process of implementing measures to meet spring deadlines for two new laws, House Bill 1, the Youth CAMPER Act, and Senate Bill 1, the Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act.
State agencies are implementing procedures and local jurisdictions are required to comply with a new law, Senate Bill 3, The Center Square reported.
“Every child deserves a summer that is both fun and safe. The Safe Summers Fund advances that mission by pairing new camp safety laws and the legacy of Heaven’s 27 with real, on-the-ground action,” Blake Bonner, co-founder of The Campaign for Camp Safety, said. “This is a foundational step to ensure camps have the resources to meet these standards, and we are committed to growing the Fund until every child at a qualifying camp is protected by these life-saving measures.”
Bonner, who lost his daughter, Lila, testified before the state legislature that she and other campers died because “they … followed the rules. They did exactly what they were told to do that morning: stay in their cabins. Our daughters paid the ultimate price for their obedience to a plan that was destined to fail,” The Center Square reported.
The Bonners were among the first parents to sue Camp Mystic, whose owners deny culpability for the girls’ deaths. The camp also announced plans to reopen in the summer, ignoring the objection of Heaven’s 27 parents, including the family of Cile Steward, whose remains were never found.
So far, the parents of 20 girls have filed wrongful death lawsuits against Camp Mystic. They argue their daughters would not have died had they been housed in cabins in a floodplain, been evacuated and not told to stay in their cabins, The Center Square reported.
