Released Oct. 26, 2007

CLEMSON, S.C. — A $1 million gift will ensure that a respite camp for severely handicapped children and their families will prosper for many years at Clemson University’s Outdoor Lab.

Charlie White and Doris Buffett Through her Sunshine Lady Foundation, Doris Buffett of Fredericksburg, Va., promised the gift to the Outdoor Lab’s Camp Sunshine, a weekend camp for children with profound special needs. The camp is designed to provide a respite — a rare weekend to be regular adults — for caregivers and families while the campers enjoy a weekend of outdoor activities and fellowship.

Clemson’s College of Health, Education and Human Development announced the endowment Friday at the Outdoor Lab. The Sunshine Lady Foundation gift creates an endowment “in the name of Charlie White for being an outstanding humanitarian.”

Bud Egleston and his son, Michael, of Seneca told the crowd about the camp. Known to 36 years of campers as Charlie, the former director of the Outdoor Lab has a long-time relationship with Buffett.

The Sunshine Lady Foundation supported the respite camp for a year in the mid-1990s when the camp operated for five weekends. It pledged support for the following year and then the next. The support kept coming and now, with the endowment, the camp will operate in perpetuity.

“Doris really liked the concept of service and respite,” said White, who became good friends with the philanthropist over the years. “On her first visit, she met our campers and some of our parents. She fell in love with what we wanted to do and that appreciation has grown through the years.”

Camp Sunshine is the only endowment ever funded by the Sunshine Lady Foundation, which supports a multitude of causes, small and large, including domestic violence, education for women and early-reading programs.

The Camp Sunshine program offers six weekends of camping and respite throughout the fall and spring. The cluster of cabins at the Outdoor Lab where the camp takes place will be named Camp Sunshine.

“Camp Sunshine is a place for children and adults to come that don’t have a lot of other options,” said Norman McGee, director of the Outdoor Lab. “And it’s an opportunity for them to have an experience that they wouldn’t have otherwise, particularly in the outdoors. The endowment allows us to continue Camp Sunshine for many more years and for many more families.”

Campers enjoy pontoon boat rides, archery, crafts, campfire programs, hayrides and other special events throughout the weekend. Clemson University students and former summer staff members serve as counselors for the program.

“Many of our campers had never spent the night away from home until they came here for the first time,” McGee said.

The Sunshine Lady Foundation Inc. is a private family foundation established in 1996 by Doris Buffett, who continues to serve as president.

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http://www.clemson.edu/newsroom/articles/top-stories/camp_sunshine.php5

Contacts: Norman McGee, (864) 646-7502, mcgeen@clemson.edu

Ross Norton, (864) 656-4810, rnorton@clemson.edu