HUNT, TEXAS — Matthew Childress and other families of victims from the 2024 Camp Mystic flood launched the Safe Summers Foundation in July 2025. The foundation advocates for nationwide summer camp safety reforms.

The floods at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, on July 4, 2024, killed more than 130 people. Among the deceased were 25 girls and two teenage counselors, including 18-year-old Chloe Childress and 9-year-old Molly DeWitt, who were in the same cabin when they died. Camp Mystic is an all-girls private Christian camp located in Hunt, Texas.

Matthew Childress, Chloe Childress's father, and Ryan DeWitt, Molly DeWitt's father, filed a lawsuit against Camp Mystic, accusing its owners of gross negligence. The lawsuit alleges the camp prioritized profit over safety. The Eastland family, who owns and operates Camp Mystic, stated the floodwaters on July 4 far exceeded previous floods. They also stated that the state of Texas failed to fund an adequate early warning flood system in the area.

A state report released in June 2025 concluded that Camp Mystic did not prepare for the storm or have an evacuation plan. The report also faulted Kerr County officials for disregarding alerts and warnings from the Texas emergency management division. County officials were substantially absent from duty and failed to coordinate effectively with summer camps before the storm, according to the report.

Matthew Childress, Ryan DeWitt, and other victims' families advocated for camp safety legislative changes in Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed two new campground safety laws in September 2024. One of these laws, named the Heaven's 27 Camp Safety Act, requires summer camps to install warning systems, provide emergency training, strengthen communications for situations without power or cell service, and prohibits building cabins in flood zones.

The Safe Summers Foundation, launched by the families of the 27 victims, aims to get 27,000 parents to pledge to inquire about camps' safety measures. The foundation is also raising money for safety upgrades and to promote new safety laws. Matthew Childress and Ryan DeWitt serve on the foundation's advisory board.

Childress described the motivation behind their actions, stating, "We all began to be driven by understanding the truth." He sought to understand what happened before, during, and after that night. Childress said, "What happened that night? What happened leading up to that night? What happened following that night? At that time, even though I knew it was irrational, I felt that if I could put that timeline together, that I could save my daughter, that I could save these girls."

DeWitt noted the challenges, stating, "Make no mistake about it, that doesn't mean that the road ahead is not still really, really difficult for us to be able to be at the leading edge of meaningful change." He added that their efforts keep their daughters' "purpose and their spirit alive." DeWitt further stated that he and Childress could not remain inactive because if a similar event happened again, they "would be reliving the pain with them."