Augusta County: Tess Majors Foundation partners with Camp LIGHT on several projects

The Tess Majors Foundation has funded an accessible pathway through wildflower gardens and the construction of a bird observation deck at Camp LIGHT, and is helping the youth- and young adult-focused Augusta County nonprofit launch its new Gatehouse Project.

“We are incredibly grateful for the Tess Majors Foundation and their belief in our mission,” said Kelly Truxell, the director at Camp LIGHT, a summer day camp operated by Creative Works Farm for children and adults with special needs and at-risk youths.

“Their generosity is helping us build a camp environment where every participant can access nature, feel included, and experience joy. Tess’s legacy is changing lives,” Truxell said.

The paved pathway opens up a new world for Camp LIGHT campers who use wheelchairs or have mobility challenges, allowing them to travel safely and independently to camp programs and experiences.

The bird observation deck, connected to “Skeeter’s Treehouse,” which overlooks the wildflower garden, is designed to give campers new ways to engage with nature through binoculars, telescopes, microscopes, educational signage and wildlife observation.

Nice touch: some of the educational signage throughout the garden features photographs taken by Tess Majors herself.

Tess, an intern with us at Augusta Free Press in 2019, was taken from all of us later that year, a victim of a brutal attack during an armed robbery in New York City.

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ICYMI: Articles by Tess Majors (2019)

• Augusta County music scene: What to love, what it lacks
• Accessibility for all: Sarah’s app idea
• Local government matters: Civic engagement at Waynesboro City Council
• The musical melting pot: A look into life at the Music Resource Center

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Her parents, Inman and Christy Majors, established the Tess Majors Foundation in 2024, with the goal of giving young people opportunities to participate in music, nature and arts activities, with a focus on doing so in communities in rural areas that are not often the focus of foundation support.

The Foundation’s activities here in our area include scholarships for Nature Camp in Rockbridge County, student internships at the Music Resource Center in Charlottesville, and four paid summer positions for local high school students at Project GROWS, an Augusta County nonprofit focused on connecting locals to nutritious food.