Founded by Alvin Ailey and the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey in 1989, AileyCamp targets students with academic, social and domestic challenges—criteria that often determine a child's risk of dropping out of school—but also welcomes students who have little opportunity to develop their artistic interests. An important aspect of the program's success is in providing positive adult and peer role models, and giving campers an invaluable opportunity to explore their creativity, learn to master their bodies, and strengthen their respect for themselves and others within a supportive framework that gives them an important foundation for the future.