Louis Zamperini's Unbroken Promise

My name is Clay Zamperini. I'm the only grandson of Louis Zamperini , hero of the major motion picture, Unbroken , directed by Angelina Jolie. While many people know the story of my grandfather's athletic prowess in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, or his heroics in World War II, his life's mission didn't begin until he came home from the war.

In 1956, Louis founded Victory Boys Camp , a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that took juvenile delinquents into the California wilderness to teach them the value of self-respect, tenacity, perseverance, survival, forgiveness, and humility. For decades he was changing the lives of young people by sharing his unbelievable story, and showing them that they had the power within themselves to accomplish anything if they only believed that they could.

Louis Zamperini with the original group of "Victory Boys"



My grandfather passed away in 2014 , at the age of 97. The whole of his existence was still centered on helping young people get their lives on track, even on his deathbed. It is my dream to continue the work that he started, using the great outdoors as a classroom to teach at-risk young people that they are valuable members of society.

To do this, I have partnered with Summit Adventure , who has been using adventure programming in the wilderness and experiential education as tools for challenge and growth since 1973. We have set up a program wherein at-risk young people will be taken on an adventure through the Sierra Nevada  in California, spending several days camping, hiking, rock climbing, and rappelling as they are led by our guides and volunteers. All the while, they are being listened to, cared for, and taught how to life through our core tenets, as exemplified in the book Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand:

Forgiveness

Challenge

Survival

Hope

Preparedness

Positivity

Contentment

Humility

My goal is to build self-respect in young people by giving them a sense of accomplishment and encouraging a life of service, so that they may go on to help others as we are helping them.

It is my belief that these lessons and exposure to the great outdoors are vital to young people, whether their families can provide these to them or not. I want to raise money here so that these young people can have these experiences at no cost to themselves, or to their families. Every dollar that is donated here will be put towards making this dream a reality, covering the costs of food, transportation, professional guides, and more.

Fundraising Milestones:

• $10,000 Raised - Send 10 young people to camp

• $20,000 Raised - Send 20 young people to camp

• $30,000 Raised - Send 30 young people to camp

• $40,000 Raised - Send 40 young people to camp, completely funding our first year program goal!

Find out more information about this program at www.louiszamperinifoundation.org


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Thank you for your support!