Meet Lucy. She’s 13-years-old and has attended one of our summer camps in Seattle for eight years and counting! Over the last program year (Sept. 2023-Aug. 2024) that we highlight in this report, I got to talk with Lucy about why she keeps coming back to Camp Fire. She shared these five things:
- “Time and space to ‘just be’ is calming.” Making friendship bracelets, doing brain puzzles and just talking with cabin mates are all low-key activities that lessen stress. Not every minute needs to be planned.
- “Being phone-free is hard but worth it.” Even young people feel the need to take a break from technology. It takes some getting used to but is ultimately a helpful way to unplug and connect in person. It is also a break from upsetting headlines and impossible social media standards.
- “Differences are a good thing.” Connecting with others who have different identities and life experience actually makes it easier to be yourself. You don’t all have to be the same to find things in common and to enjoy each other.
- “Camp is more flexible and less rigid than the usual routine.” Away from school, activities, and homework there is no pressure to conform, perform, and be perfect. This is a huge weight off for young people–especially those with anxiety and depression.
- “Environment matters.” Being immersed in nature and doing experiential activities like visiting the star cabin (a cabin painted all black with glow-in-the-dark constellations) or porch singing (singing while dinner is being prepared) puts campers in a different headspace from their everyday lives at home. This can be a really helpful mental switch.
Lucy loves camp so much and has her own ideas about how to make camp a place where everyone belongs: “I want to make a difference for others at camp.” She plans to be a counselor-in-training and eventually a counselor when she gets older!
This is why we do what we do. Lucy’s meaningful experience is reflective not just of Camp Fire’s overnight camps but of our intentional programs overall, including day camps, before and after school, teen leadership, and early childhood education programs.
Over the past year, our 45 affiliates across 22 states and D.C. served over 102,000 youth and families, just like Lucy, across 851 sites. We also expanded our work through partnerships and collaborations with AT&T, the National Indian Education Association, and Playworks.
Along with creating safe spaces where all young people can have fun and be themselves, we’ve been releasing cutting-edge research around it. In January 2024, we launched a new, first-of-its kind report on how to create gender-affirming spaces at camp where youth can “simply be”, especially for trans and nonbinary youth. Since its launch, we’ve trained numerous organizations on inclusive practices and collaborated with the American Camp Association (ACA) to share these practices with their vast network, via a blog, podcast, and webinar.
If you missed it, we were also on the front page of The Washington Post, launched our Equity in Action report, and Accessibility in Action report.
Enjoy this snapshot of Camp Fire’s impact. Growing up is hard, but Camp Fire makes it better by connecting young people to the outdoors, to others, and to themselves. Thank you for all you do to help make this work possible, for Lucy and the 102,000 others like her. It matters.
With joy,
Shawna Rosenzweig, CEO | Camp Fire National Headquarters
