Charity Aughinbaugh’s three daughters wept at the sight of trees wrapped in green ribbons welcoming them back to Fort Worth from Camp Mystic.
She and husband J.T. brought their girls home July 6 after their evacuation from the camp devastated by the floods that occurred in Texas Hill Country during the Fourth of July weekend. Neighborhoods around the state wrapped trees to show solidarity with and support for campers who survived the floods — and for those grieving unimaginable loss.
The outpouring of care and compassion was magnified Saturday.
Although a number of efforts are ongoing to help people affected by the Central Texas floods as a whole, the Aughinbaugh girls wanted to create a fundraiser specifically for Camp Mystic. In less than 24 hours, the daughters were able to put together a lemonade and bake sale in support of a camp loved by the Aughinbaughs and so many.
For four hours at the Overton Park Tennis Courts in Fort Worth’s Tanglewood neighborhood, Mystic girls, families and others in the community came together — one cup of lemonade, one cookie and one hug at a time. The fundraiser has garnered over $64,000 in support, with more donations coming in as of Monday afternoon, Charity Aughinbaugh told the Fort Worth Report.
“My oldest daughter said, ‘I think so many people want to help, but they haven’t known how to help, and a lemonade stand was just an easy gesture,” Aughinbaugh said. “People were not buying lemonade. They were buying hope. They were buying faith. They were buying love.”
A camp beloved by many
The Aughinbaugh parents learned about the Christian summer camp, a place where girls make lifelong friendships built on faith, tradition and sisterhood, while they were in their early 20s. From then on, the couple decided, if they were to have daughters, their girls would attend Camp Mystic.
“Before they were even born, we had the application filled out for them,” their mother said.
This summer it was eldest daughter Libby’s seventh year at Camp Mystic, followed by her sister Margaret Anne’s fifth year and littlest sister Claire’s second year. Libby and Margaret Anne’s cabins were on a more elevated part of the campgrounds known as Senior Hill. Claire was among the younger campers in the Chatterbox cabin, located on the campgrounds known as “the flats.”
It’s really hard to talk about what her three girls experienced that weekend, Aughinbaugh said, but she documented some of their harrowing journey on Facebook.
“The water pressure didn’t allow them to open the door and water was forehead high. They broke a window and started evacuating the cabin that way,” she wrote, recalling a phone call with her youngest daughter. “Claire was the last one evacuated out of her cabin and got swept away and hung on to a rock until she was saved. Beyond thankful for her life and God’s protection.”
Camp Mystic, named after the morning mists that rise from the Guadalupe River, is a private Christian summer camp for girls. It was established in 1926 by University of Texas coach “Doc” Stewart. The camp strives to provide young girls with a “wholesome Christian atmosphere in which they can develop outstanding personal qualities and self-esteem,” according to the website.
The flash floods during the July 4 weekend killed at least 131 people in the Hill Country and Central Texas, with more than 150 people still missing, according to Texas Public Radio. The deaths include at least 27 Mystic campers and counselors.
“We want to take time as we continue to grieve the loss of our precious girls, to thank all of our counselors that embodied the Mystic Spirit and put their campers first as they guided them to safety,” a July 12 Camp Mystic statement reads. “There are many counselors and others that we claim as heroes that night and we will be forever grateful.”
On Saturday, streamers in Camp Mystic’s signature green were draped atop the white lemonade stand decorated with pastel polka dots in green, blue, pink and yellow. A blue “K” and red “T,” symbolizing the Tonkawa and Kiowa “tribes” adorned the stand along with other Camp Mystic signage. Friends, family and members of the community visited throughout the day.
Putting together the fundraiser was “a labor of love,” Aughinbaugh said. On Friday afternoon the Aughinbaugh family got to work: Libby put together a spreadsheet, chairs were picked up from Taylor’s Rental and they reached out to Westfork Garden Market to ask about borrowing the lemonade stand used for Colonial Kids for a Cause. On Saturday morning a family friend picked up 500 cookies from Costco, and Colonial Country Club and River Crest Country Club both donated lemonade, cookies and Uncrustables sandwiches, Aughinbaugh said.
“It was just such an outpouring of love in the community,” Aughinbaugh said. “It was just special to see the community come together and just talk and interact and support the girls and say, ‘We love you, and we’re praying for you guys.’”
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.
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