AMBTIF Arshay Cooper Camp: Five Years of Partnership
September 13, 2025
It’s a late July morning and the mist is slowly starting to burn off Great Hosmer Pond in Craftsbury, Vermont. Soft, cheerful laughter can be heard as campers for the A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund’s Arshay Cooper Camp work together to bring boats and oars down to the water for morning practice. Athletes have traveled here from across the world to attend camp. They do not know each other yet, but they are all unified by the commonality of rowing and the new bond of Arshay Cooper bringing them together with his advocacy work. While each athlete is training in the single, they are all working together as a team. By the end of the week, they will leave as family, connected for life by their experiences and memories shared.
Arshay Cooper is an author, motivational speaker, and cofounder of A Most Beautiful Thing Inclusion Fund (AMBTIF), which was founded after the success of his award-winning book and film, A Most Beautiful Thing. He leads AMBTIF’s efforts to build a diverse, inclusive, and equitable sport in rowing. AMBTIF aims to equip young people with the tools to become champions in their communities, on the water, and in life. Since its inception, AMBTIF has impacted 19 rowing programs in historically underserved communities by helping raise over $3 million dollars through a combination of AMBTIF grants, in kind donations of Ergs, oars, and boats, and fundraising efforts. Parallel to these programs, Cooper has been working diligently with partners in the rowing community to create opportunities for young athletes to gain leadership skills. This initiative aims to help the programs they came from blossom and to provide them with the tools to help others succeed. That is where the AMBTIF Arshay Cooper Camp at Craftsbury comes into play.
Over the last five years, diverse and underserved youth rowers from all over the world have been coming to Craftsbury Outdoor Center to learn, grow, lead, and share their stories with Arshay Cooper’s Camp. The annual camp has been made possible by the hard work, organization, and funding from AMBTIF, Concept2, Craftsbury Outdoor Center, and Concrete Foundation, Inc. “Being able to take kids from seeing dirt and concrete everyday… and experiencing physical, mental, environmental, emotional and social wellness at Craftsbury…It made kids feel complete,” says Cooper.
Seeing the change and growth that athletes had in just one week at camp is truly incredible. Jo Victorio-Sharma, Deputy Director of AMBTIF saw this firsthand. “I expected teamwork, but I wasn’t prepared for how boldly this new generation steps up – willing to take risks, hold themselves accountable, support each other, celebrate new skills, and recognize every small win. It reminded me that sometimes community can form faster and stronger than we expect when people feel safe, seen, and encouraged,” Victorio-Sharma said. Seeing this evolution over a greater period of time is even more profound. Curtley Anthony van Wyk, who was a camper in 2024 and then returned as an intern in 2025 said, “Camp sparked a genuine curiosity in me to dive deeper into the sport—not just to row, but to truly understand it. I’ve been motivated to bring that knowledge back to my rowing club so I can guide and educate others. In short, camp lit a fire under me.” Zach Williams, also a camper in 2024 and an intern in 2025, had a similar experience. He told us this year that he wants to use his experience in other sports to help others and also shared his developing mentorship with RowLA, a youth-girls club in Los Angeles, California. He says, “With this relationship (with RowLA), I want to help promote their mission by welcoming young women, especially black young women to become empowering leaders and competitive student-athletes. I would also want to use my track and field background to have runners and rowers learn from each other, which not only promotes physiological diversity but also creating expanded social spaces for athletes.”
Van Wyk and William’s stories are just two of the over 100 athletes who have now been impacted by the AMBTIF Arshay Cooper Camp. It goes beyond just the athletes that are impacted though – their families and communities also see the returns. Cooper says, “It’s life changing for the parents and caregivers too… They’re like, ‘I don’t know what happened to them this week, but they’ve changed!’” It is of significance to note that 100% of athletes who have attended camp have gone on to graduate from high school and attend college. Cooper says, “We use education and rowing to help honestly break the cycle of poverty for some of these families. We believe that education combined with rowing yields a powerful return.” Concept2 is honored to be a part of the AMBTIF Arshay Cooper Camp and help his mission to transform the lives of young people, their communities, and the sport of rowing.
2025 in particular marks many milestones for Arshay Cooper, AMBTIF, Concept2, and the Concrete Foundation, Inc. In March, the Concrete Foundation established by Concept2 Founders Dick Dreissigacker and Judy Geer would become the fiscal sponsor of AMBTIF. July marked the five-year anniversary release of the highly acclaimed feature film, A Most Beautiful Thing. This summer also marks five years since the launch of AMBTIF and the partnership with Concept2 to help fund the AMBTIF Arshay Cooper Camp at Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Cooper explains how the cumulative effect of these milestones added up to impact the campers, “Being able to travel, being able to be in that environment, being able to meet the founders after spending so much time on the Erg and being able to visit Concept2 is a huge deal for them”.
So, what’s next? AMBTIF plans to continue expanding their partner programs even further- increasing to 23 rowing programs in total this October. Ultimately, they want to help give the athletes, coaches, and leaders the tools to excel and expand diversity on the biggest and most competitive stages of rowing, at higher learning institutions, organizations, and at major businesses. Cooper says, “I want to see in the next five years more of our athletes graduating from college. Making national teams. Stepping into roles as directors, coaches and leaders of camps and rowing programs. We want to give them the tools to give back to the places that gave to them. That’s a huge part of our goal.” To do that, AMBTIF is investing more time and energy into their Leadership Academy. Victorio-Sharma says, “This will help grow the next generation of leaders— creating more opportunities to bring people together, build connections, and strengthen our rowing community.” Giving athletes a platform, encouragement, and tools to tell their stories to inspire others with storytelling is also a part of this goal. Van Wyk says, “I never imagined I’d be inspired to step into motivational speaking. But I realized something powerful—every single person’s story matters, no matter how small or “ordinary” it might seem. Turns out, our life chapters can inspire others…”
While AMBTIF continues making an impact within the rowing community, Cooper is simultaneously releasing his third book, Let Me Be Real with You, in October of 2025. Let Me Be Real with You looks at the world from Cooper’s perspective and discusses eight elements of wellness to help readers take better care of themselves and the world around them. These elements and lessons were all learned by Cooper growing up and they aided his growth in rowing and in life. Let Me Be Real with You is now on pre-order and can be purchased here, or wherever books are sold.
Curious how you can get involved with AMBTIF and their initiatives? There’s really so many ways. Victorio-Sharma says, “Every bit of support makes a real difference—helping young athletes thrive, empowering athletes of color, and building a stronger, more inclusive rowing community. Whether you donate, volunteer, or share our story, you’re helping more people learn about our work and get involved.” Below are a few resources of how you can stay informed and get involved.