One reason Zac Brown is so passionate about his Camp Southern Ground for kids is because of the impact being a camper and a camp counselor had on him growing up.  As a teenager, Zac was a camp counselor, and he remembers one incident that was both frightening but life-changing for him and a young camper.  He recalls, “We were hiking and we were taking repelling ropes up this cliff to come down and the kids that were in my group were probably seven or eight years old and I remember I had one little kid and his name was Mikey, and he was smaller than the other kids, but he was just real eager and he was carrying this huge climbing rope.  So, we’re walking on this trail and it’s kind of, you know, you step off the trail and you fall down forty, fifty feet, and I remember he was walking in front of me and I remember he lost his footing carrying this heavy rope and he started to fall and he was falling off the ledge and I reached down and the only thing I could grab a hold of was his hair.  He had this real bushy, curly hair.  I had to lift him by his hair and pull him back up on the trail, and I remember him grabbing a hold of my leg afterward and just sitting there, and we all realized what could have happened.”

While the incident was frightening, Zac says, “I remember that bond that all of us together, always watching over each other and pushing each other beyond the things we would normally be able to go do.  He didn’t leave that camp afraid, he left there empowered in knowing that he can do amazing things and to know what real relationships and real things are all about.”

Zac says everything he does, including making music with the Zac Brown Band, like their latest single, “Castaway,” is all about supporting Camp Southern Ground, so that he can help inspire and empower kids just like Mikey.

Zac Brown Band – camp memories  1:04

“I remember one time as a counselor, we were hiking and we were taking repelling ropes up this cliff to come down and the kids that were in my group were probably seven or eight years old and I remember I had one little kid and his name was Mikey, and he was smaller than the other kids, but he was just real eager and he was carrying this huge climbing rope.  So, we’re walking on this trail and it’s kind of, you know, you step off the trail and you fall down forty, fifty feet, and I remember he was walking in front of me and I remember he lost his footing carrying this heavy rope and he started to fall and he was falling off the ledge and I reached down and the only thing I could grab a hold of was his hair.  He had this real bushy, curly hair.  I had to lift him by his hair and pull him back up on the trail, and I remember him grabbing a hold of my leg afterward and just sitting there, and we all realized what could have happened.  I remember that bond that all of us together, always watching over each other and pushing each other beyond the things we would normally be able to go do.  He didn’t leave that camp afraid, he left there empowered in knowing that he can do amazing things and to know what real relationships and real things are all about.”

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/277557180″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Audio player not working?  Click here.