WHERE ALL YOUTH CAN belong & thrive CAMP FIRE’S DEFINITION OF THRIVING Connection When young people are thriving, they are connected to others, to nature, and to themselves with a loving awareness of their identities, dreams, passions, and needs. Whole self They are invited to imagine their whole selves and to learn, grow, and achieve […]
Give to Camp Fire We believe all young people should have the chance to belong, connect with nature, and learn critical life skills. Thank you for joining us in this life-changing work and investing in youth! Here are 7 ways to express your generosity: Donor Advised Funds A growing trend in recent years, a donor-advised […]
Frequently Asked Questions What age groups does Camp Fire serve? Camp Fire provides programs for children and teens, with an emphasis on youth between the ages of 5 and 17. Family engagement is embedded into many of these programs. How many youth benefit from Camp Fire? Every year Camp Fire directly engages more than 150,000 […]
CAMP FIRE CREATES powerful youth experiences WE CREATE SAFE SPACES WHERE YOUNG PEOPLE CAN HAVE FUN AND BE THEMSELVES. Through playful, inclusive, affordable, and powerful out-of-class experiences Camp Fire connects young people to the outdoors, to others, and to themselves. We provide young people with a space where they feel like they truly belong. Camp […]
This election season, it’s hard to miss all the negative campaign ads, mudslinging and scare tactics on tv and online. Some people chock it up to “just politics,” but I know from my own experience as a member of the LGBTQ2S+ community, as well as working in youth development for nearly two decades, that politics have real consequences on the lives of young people…
We’ve been very lucky to partner with Dr. Kia Darling-Hammond, a leader in thriving research, as we re-envisioned Camp Fire’s definition of thriving. Dr. Darling-Hammond puts “overlooked and underserved” young people at the center of her work, an approach that both fits our values and helps us move further toward our goal of being […]
Out-of-school-time programs really matter in the day-to-day lives of families and young people. They are also a core strategy in Camp Fire’s mission to connect young people to the outdoors, to others, and to themselves. We’ve written about our commitment to developing quality programs before, but we wanted to take some time to talk about […]
Written by: Ben Matthews, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Access Specialist In 1909, Charlotte Gulick held a small summer camp for her daughters, three of their close friends, and a young woman with disabilities. There was no way she could have known that that first camp would grow into a movement that would […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 23, 2022 – The National AfterSchool Association (NAA), the voice of the afterschool profession and lead organization for the advancement of afterschool professionals and leaders has selected Hannah Patterson, Evaluation Manager at Camp Fire National Headquarters as one of NAA’s 2022 Next Generation of Afterschool Leaders. In selecting its 2022 […]
We are proud to share Camp Fire’s 2020-2021 People & Impact Report! This is one of our eight organizational core values. The purpose of our annual People & Impact report is to show you what that means in action. Though we’ve remained in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020-2021 school year was a […]