Belonging changes everything

Volunteers and participants arrive through different doors. By the end of the first event, they are simply friends.

2026 Impact Report · The Koinonia Foundation · Knoxville, Tennessee

A letter from our Executive Director

Friendships happen naturally here

One of my favorite things about Koinonia is that friendships happen naturally. Volunteers and participants may arrive through different doors, but once an event begins, they’re simply friends sharing an experience together. Whether we’re grabbing coffee, singing karaoke, exploring the zoo, or trying something new, it doesn’t take long for those labels to disappear, and I think that’s what makes us different.

I get a front-row seat to watch it every day. I see someone walk into Koinonia for the first time a little nervous, and before the end of their first event, they’re already asking, “When’s the next event?”

IThat’s belonging.

It’s the reason Camps, We Adapt, Koinonia Classroom, and Koinonia Strong exist. Every program looks a little different, but they’re all working toward the same goal: making sure every person has a place where they can simply be themselves, have fun, and build meaningful friendships.

The last few years have been exciting. We’ve welcomed more people than ever into Koinonia, creating more educational, recreational, and wellness opportunities. As we look ahead, our momentum isn’t changing, our focus is just getting sharper! We’re making sure every new opportunity protects what makes Koinonia so special in the first place: creating a caring community.

Thank you for making that possible.

You belong here,
Kristy DuBose
Executive Director, The Koinonia Foundation

Fiscal year 2025–26

The year in numbers

We Adapt events

We Adapt participants served

We Adapt impact hours

Koinonia Classroom classrooms

Students reached in classrooms

Koinonia Strong events

Koinonia Strong participants

Campers at Camp K and Retreat

Recreation and connection, year round

We Adapt

Coffee runs, karaoke nights, the zoo, and a hundred other reasons to show up. In four years We Adapt has grown from a handful of monthly outings into the program that keeps our community together between camps.

Support for special education teachers

Koinonia Classroom

Special education teachers leave the profession faster than their colleagues. Koinonia Classroom puts supplies, encouragement and a standing offer of help into those rooms, so teachers stay and students keep the person who knows them best.

2022

57

Classrooms

862

Students

2023

88

Classrooms

1,380

Students

2024

150

Classrooms

1,620

Students

2025

110

Classrooms

1,155

Students

The National Coalition on Personnel Shortages in Special Education reports an attrition rate of 12.3% among special education teachers, compared with 7.6% of general educators.

Wellness, movement and competition

Koinonia Strong

Training sessions, group workouts and a full Special Olympics season. Koinonia Strong is where our community goes to move, and this year it showed up in force.

Koinonia Strong events

Koinonia Strong participants

8 Special Olympics events

I6 athletes competed in bowling
I7 athletes competed in track and field

Every athlete medaled in their events.

Where it started, 42 years and counting

Camp Koinonia & Koinonia Retreat

Horseback riding, canoeing, ropes courses, campfires and camp songs, run by University of Tennessee students who plan all year for one week. Campers come back, and so do their counselors.

Camp Koinonia 2026

Behind that 71%: another 11% had been to a Koinonia camp before but sat out the previous year, and 18% were brand new campers.

Koinonia Retreat 2026

Behind that 67%: another 22% had been to a Koinonia camp before but sat out the previous year, and 11% were brand new campers.

On this year’s full camper evaluation, at both camps, the highest rated item was the same: the counselors.

In their words

Voices from our community

It is hard to imagine a time when Camp Koinonia hasn’t been a part of our lives. My son began attending camp when he was seven. This was before cell phones so there were no texts or pictures of him and his activities until he got home and film was developed! A lot of faith was involved that first year when we sent him off for a week in the hands of UT students. However, it was an amazing experience for everyone — my son, Matthew, the UT students who served as counselors and helpers, and us, the parents.

Matthew attended every Camp K until he aged out at 21, and now attends Koinonia Retreat in the fall and many of the We Adapt events.

Being an ambassador at the gala is so fun for him, as he sees so many friends and supporters of the camps and programs. The Custom Made event continues to grow and the models have such a good time walking the runway and showing off their outfits!

My late husband and I both served on the Koinonia Board and I continue to serve. I have enjoyed watching the growth of the programs to provide a loving, fun and safe place to spend time and meet new friends.

Carlene LeCompte

Board member, and Matthew’s mom

The last camp I worked at as a college student in 2016 left me with a simple but powerful message: “When I gave my love, I found my own.” I had no idea then how much those words would shape my life and my career.

That experience inspired me to pursue a career serving individuals with disabilities, and for the past nine years I have had the privilege of working in the disability community. Along the way, I’ve celebrated countless milestones, built lifelong relationships, and discovered a calling that continues to inspire me.

Joining The Koinonia Foundation as an employee has brought my journey full circle. More than a workplace, Koinonia has reignited the passion that first began at camp. It has reminded me why this work matters and has connected me with people who share the same commitment to creating opportunities, building relationships, and fostering belonging.

Today, my connection to this community is even more personal. As the parent of a child with disabilities, I understand the importance of finding a place where individuals and families are seen, supported, and celebrated. Koinonia is that place. It has given me not only the opportunity to give back, but also a community of my own.

Looking back, I realize that camp motto was true all along. When I gave my love, I truly found my own.

Leah

Former camp counselor, staff member and parent

Our son Jason has been involved with the Koinonia Foundation for over 30 years, and it has been a very important part of his life. He loved going to Camp Koinonia in Crossville, Camp Koinonia II and the different Retreats, and now continues in the We Adapt program.

He has been able to connect with some friends over the years since his first camp experience in 1993. Jason has had many opportunities to experience activities that were important for his learning and development as a young man with multiple disabilities. He has been able to adapt to many things with his involvement in Koinonia. The love and fellowship it has afforded him is immeasurable.

Thanks to the past two Executive Directors, Ruth and Jacqui, for their leadership and administration of such important programs. But today we have Kristy DuBose as Executive Director, and her terrific staff making an even greater impact on so many lives. Her staff and all the volunteers are so talented, kind, compassionate, supportive, and they like to have fun! That means a lot to all of the participants, parents and caregivers. We appreciate and love all of you.

Rick and Kathy Caudle

Jason’s parents

When I was a freshman at UT, a friend asked me if I wanted to take a fun class where I’d “make lots of friends.” It sounded great to me, so I signed up. I could have never imagined how that one decision would impact the course of my life.

I soon learned that the class would culminate with a weeklong camp called Camp Koinonia, a camp for individuals ages 7–21 with disabilities, run by UT students. I attended camp that spring as a counselor, and I’ve thought of Camp K as my happy place ever since.

Camp K is unlike anywhere you’ve ever been before. The UT students devote themselves to making sure every camper, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to experience everything a traditional camp has to offer — horseback riding, canoeing, ropes courses, campfires, dances, cabins, camp songs, friendships, and so much more.

Camp K is a place where campers have full access to the world around them, while their parents and caregivers get a much deserved break. But I honestly think the counselors end up benefiting the most. At a time in your life when you are mainly focused on yourself, it teaches you how to set aside your needs and serve others wholeheartedly. I have never worked harder, laughed more, slept less, or given more of myself.

Like so many campers who spend the rest of the year talking about Camp K, I was no different. Before long, my brother became a counselor, my mom became a camp nurse, and a family tradition began. In fact, Camp K gave me my own family — I met my husband, Jared, during our junior year at camp, and today we have four children.

Camp K taught me that every person deserves the opportunity to fully participate in the world around them. It showed me what inclusion truly looks like. Saying yes to Camp K was one of the best decisions of my life.

Lindsey Smith

Camp Koinonia counselor

The people who make it happen

Our volunteers

Every camp week, every We Adapt outing and every classroom delivery runs on volunteers — UT students, families, alumni and corporate teams who keep showing up.

Volunteer hours given

Estimated value of that time

Individual volunteers

Corporate and campus partners

Where the support came from

Fundraising & financials

Koinonia raised $552,937.55 this year across five sources, with no single one carrying more than a quarter of the total.

How it was spent

Five years of the runway

Custom Made

Participants design their own looks and walk the runway in front of a room that grows every year. In five years Custom Made has gone from 60 guests to 375, and from $14,480 raised to $130,000.