Child development experts emphasize the importance of setting realistic expectations for the holidays, sticking to a normal schedule as much as possible, getting time outside and practicing gratitude together. Simplifying gift-giving, practicing social skills before get-togethers, giving teens space to be moody are also solid strategies.  

What else can you help the young people in your life this winter? Use the same guidelines our staff and volunteers do to build strong relationships at Camp Fire! Follow the Search Institute’s framework for positive developmental relationships to bring some consistency and affirmation to the season. 

These tips are relevant whether you are trying to encourage kids and teens you are raising, related to, and/or in your wider chosen family. We’ve taken the Search Institute’s framework and given it a holiday twist below to create 20 ideas for supporting young people through the holidays. Let’s go! 

Express Care

1. Be dependable: The holidays are no time to play the flakey funcle card. Follow through on your commitments. If you say you’re going to be there, be there!
2. Listen: Join the kids’ table (metaphorically or literally) and have a real conversation. You might be surprised by what you learn!
3. Believe in me: If you’re giving gifts for the holidays, consider one that feeds a young person’s sparks — the skills, commitments or qualities that are lighting them up right now. If you don’t know what they are into, ask!
4. Be warm: Don’t forget to individually greet kids at your next holiday get-together. Make sure they know they are welcome and that you’re happy to see them, not just their accompanying adults. 
5. Encourage: Specific compliments go a long way. Look for opportunities to call out a young person’s unique point of view, persistence, or character as you’re going about your holidays.

Challenge Growth

6. Expect my best: Experts agree that the holidays are a good time to let the small stuff go. But when it comes to the big things — your community’s shared values, for example — keep standards high for yourself and young people. 
7. Stretch: Helping a young person take their next spark step can be as simple as working on a robotics project after a holiday dinner, gifting a book one reading level up, or teaching them a new phrase in a language they are learning. 
8. Hold me accountable: If you lose your seasonal cool, model how to deliver a timely, sincere apology and any necessary restitutions. Expect the same (in developmentally appropriate ways) from any young people you’re responsible for. 
9. Reflect on failures: If a holiday event or activity doesn’t go as planned, debriefing calmly (and with humor, if possible!) can help young people learn failure is part of growing, not something to be scared or ashamed of. 

Provide Support 

10. Navigate: Stressful holidays situations looming? Help young people brainstorm solutions and strategies to manage. 
11. Empower: Get time with your favorite young person to ask what their goals are for the new year — and if there’s anything you can do to give them an assist.  
12. Advocate: If any holiday gatherings have become potentially harmful for the young people in your life (if family members aren’t affirming of an LGBTQIA2s+ teen, for example), take action. If you’re the primary caregiver, you can set protective boundaries for your family, including not attending potentially harmful events. If you are an extended family member or friend, ask the young person how they’d like to be supported and make a plan for how you’ll intervene. (This Parents article has some great resources!)
13. Set boundaries: If it’s within your control, set limits on the seasonal schedule. Help young people prioritize their favorite activities instead of getting overwhelmed. And keep sleep at the top of the to-do list! 

Share Power

14. Respect me: If you’re getting resistance to a particular holiday tradition or gathering, stop and ask why. Even if you ultimately ask for their participation, try to clearly understand their concerns first and come to a fair solution. 
15. Include me: Include kids and teens as you’re building your holiday schedule. What gatherings, activities or traditions mean the most to them? What are their priorities for the season? Give them a say in the decisions that affect them. 
16. Collaborate: Can you create a new holiday tradition with the young people in your life? What fun, new December adventure can you come up with together?  
17. Let me lead: Consider asking the kids and teens in your family if they’d like to lead a holiday activity traditionally headed up by an adult. What would change if the kids took over?

Expand Possibilities

18. Inspire: Do you know a young person who shares some of your sparks? Can you schedule some inspiration time (a work tag-along or a hobby session) with them this holiday break? 
19. Broaden horizons: Stuck in a holiday rut? Take the young people in your life on a mini-adventure. It could be as simple as visiting a new park or trying a new kind of food — the point is novelty! 
20. Connect: Do you know a child or teen who hasn’t tried Camp Fire yet? Find an affiliate or program near you. There’s no better gift than helping a young person connect to nature, others and themselves!

The post Supporting young people through the holidays: 20 ways to help this season appeared first on Camp Fire.

An Exploration of

water

This Year’s

art experience

Camp Fire is challenging young people to think about the role that water plays in their own lives by encouraging them to go outside and experience water: jumping in puddles, sitting by streams, or getting soaked in the rain. Perhaps they live in an area where water is limited. In that case, their connection to water may feel different than it does for someone who lives in a coastal or rainy area. Part of the purpose of this year’s National Art Experience is for young people to think about the significance of water in their own lives and communities, and to translate these ideas into art.

emblems

There are two emblems you can earn by completing the National Art Experience!

Visit the Learning Lab to get more information about the emblems and how to order them.

Learning Lab: National Art Experience

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This past year, Camp Fire has been reframing how we talk about our organization. We’ve been shifting our focus from what we’re doing to why we are doing it. Our new vision statement anchors us in that long view. It helps us look ahead. It gives us motivation to keep going when we hit hard days or get bogged down in logistics and details. It reminds us what we can achieve together: 

We envision a world where all young people thrive and have equitable opportunities for self-discovery, community connection, and engagement with nature.

Let’s break down that vision into its parts: 

All young people find their spark, lift their voice, and discover who they are.

If you’ve been around Camp Fire for the past decade or so, you’ve heard about sparks: They are the talents, interests, commitments and qualities that give us energy and purpose. Knowing what makes you light up is a key part of self-discovery. Camp Fire wants to help young people not only discover their sparks but learn to use their voice to actively pursue and share those sparks in the real world. We want a future full of engaged, passionate young people who are confident in who they are and what they have to offer.  

Read about Self-Discovery in action: 

• 15 Questions to Spark a Sparks Conversation
• How Camp Fire Staff Build Youth-Driven Programs
• From Camp Fire to Mission Control: NASA Chief Flight Director Holly Riding’s Alumni Story

All young people find, build, and contribute to their community; they develop meaningful relationships with supportive adults and peers; they feel seen, heard, accepted, supported, and affirmed for who they are today, and who they will be in the future. 

Camp Fire sees young people as an integral part of our clubs, camps, neighborhoods and cities. We don’t exist to serve young people. We exist to connect them—to the outdoors, to others, and to themselves. (In fact, that’s our mission statement!) Camp Fire wants to help young people build lasting relationships with the people around them. We want a future full of connected, secure young people who know where and how they belong. 

Read about Community Connection in action: 

• Developmental Relationships—are we cultivating them?
• Inclusion Statements: Why specificity matters
• Five Ways to Help Kids Belong

All young people experience the power and awe of the outdoors; they learn to respect, love, and care for our world. 

Camp Fire wants a future full of—we’ll, we want a future, period. That’s going to take young people who understand that we are nature. If nature is in trouble, so are we. We imagine a future full of compassionate young people who know how to make a positive, transformative impact on the environment. 

Read about Engagement with Nature in action:

• Exploring Innovative Nature Engagement Practices
• Celebrate Earth Day: Work for environmental justice
• Meet Quincy Henry: Coffee roaster, environmental justice seeker, and youth advocate

Camp Fire’s new vision paints a picture of a world where kids know who they are and how important they are to their communities and their ecosystems. Want to help us build this beautiful future? 

Get involved: Donate, volunteer, partner with us, and/or find a council near you.

The post New Year, New Vision appeared first on Camp Fire.

Quincy Henry and his wife, Whitni, started

“One of our earliest customers in our online store—and a fan of what we are doing—was Nicole [from Camp Fire Heart of Oklahoma],” says Quincy. “She passed our info along to Erin at National Headquarters. And at the same time, the local council here had been reaching out.” 

Instead of being concerned about name confusion, the message was simple: Let’s work together! 

“We’re both called Campfire! We have a similar theme,” Quincy laughs. “Both Whitni and I were like, this is a no brainer. Let’s do it!” 

Those initial discussions led to a special edition Camp Fire + Campfire coffee—inspired by Absolutely Incredible Kid Day. 

About the Partnership

Buy Your Bag Now

Buy Coffee!

“We’re super excited about it because we’re still building out what our nonprofit side will look like,” says Quincy. “In the meantime, we get to put our efforts and energy toward organizations that have a similar mission,” 

Quincy and Whitni are developing Explorers Club, a nonprofit arm of Campfire Coffee, to bring outdoor activities to a more diverse audience. Their new headquarters will have outdoor gear rentals and classes on using that gear correctly and staying safe in nature. “Anybody who has felt like being in the outdoors has not been necessarily attainable to them—we want to break down barriers and create more access for them,” explains Quincy.  

The outdoors played a pivotal part in Quincy’s life. Growing up, he heard tales of his family’s earlier outdoor adventures in Alaska, but they didn’t regularly spend time in nature after they moved to Washington, where Quincy was born and raised. 

“I heard the stories, and I had a romanticized idea of it,” laughs Quincy. But his turn was coming. In 5th and 6th grade, he attended the Outdoor School program at Waskowitz Outdoor Center.

“Camp Waskowitz had a huge impact on me,” says Quincy. “That’s where I really feel in love with nature.” 

He became a high-school leader and a trainer there as he got older, and even turned down a full-time position with them to go to college, instead. In addition to kickstarting his lifelong camping habit, that outdoor program also taught him the importance of encouragement in kids’ lives.

“One of the magic things about being at Wasko was that there was so much positivity,” says Quincy. “In high school, part of the training curriculum was to find these would-be leaders’ strengths and build them up.”

Quincy says he was lucky to have positive affirmation at home, at camp, and from teachers at school. He drew on that adult support as his passions led him to a music career—when his four older brothers were all Division 1 college athletes. 

“I had a lot of pressure to perform up to their level,” Quincy says. “All of that extra encouragement and positive energy to do what I loved made a world of difference.” 

Quincy has made it a point to pay that positive, supportive energy forward, whether by mentoring young musicians, building Explorers Club, or pouring into the lives of his own three children (ages 8, 6 and 4). 

“I feel like you can never have enough guidance and direction when you’re young,” says Quincy. “I try to be that person for people. Especially for the kiddos. They need it!”

Want to be like Quincy? Pledge to tell a young person what makes them incredible. Mark your calendar for Absolutely Incredible Kid Day on March 18,2021. 

Campfire Coffee Co. is the proud sponsor of Absolutely Incredible Kid Day®

Looking for some outdoor inspiration in the Pacific Northwest? Here are Quincy and his family’s current top spots for some return-to-nature R&R: 

• Cape Disappointment State Park “Not a disappointment! It’s a gorgeous state park.”
• Dash Point State Park “If we just want to get away for a weekend, we load up the RV and slide down to Dash Point.”
• Lake Chelan State Park “Phe-nom-en-al.” 
• Lake Wenatchee State Park “Another beautiful one just outside of Leavenworth, which looks like something out of a fairy tale.” 
• Millersylvania State Park “That is a picturesque state park. I need to get back there.”

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Why? Not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because we’ve seen how centuries of unaddressed economic injustice and structural racism has made it hard for so many to reach their full potential. 

Camp Fire kids deserve better. All kids deserve better. And equity is better. We know this at a gut level, but the positive youth development research backs up our own ethical compasses. 

According to the Search Institute, when young people experience strong developmental relationships and equitable environments, their social-emotional skills thrive. In fact, among students who rate their school and/or youth program as highly equitable, 65 percent self-report high social-emotional skills, compared to only 38 percent of students who say their schools and/or programs aren’t very equitable. The same pattern follows with developmental relationships: Students who had said they had strong relationships with supportive adults were more likely to have high social-emotional competencies. 

Complementary research—from organizations like the National Equity Project and the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL)—shows that social-emotional learning (SEL) can help build equity, too. (What’s social-emotional learning? Here’s a quick refresher.) 

The good goes all ways: Increasing equity leads to better social-emotional outcomes. Developmental relationships help create equitable environments and build social-emotional skills. And Social Emotional Learning leads to better equity practices.  Camp Fire’s equity goals aren’t separate from Camp Fire’s core SEL program framework—our Camp Fire Journey—or our commitment to building strong, supportive relationships between adults and young people. They are inextricably tied together.

Camp Fire’s approach to SEL and developmental relationships supports our equity and antiracism goals in several ways: 

• SEL creates identity-safe environments where young people can bring their whole selves and feel valued. Everyone is welcome. At Camp Fire, young people and adult staff and volunteers are free to celebrate their authentic identities and unique gifts. 
• SEL teaches young people to use their voices, trust themselves and take action. In Camp Fire, young people develop the skills necessary to create a more just and equitable world.
• Adult champions are trained to understand the impacts of racism, inequality, prejudice, and stereotypes on young people’s ability to learn and thrive.
• We treat families and communities as stakeholders, leaders and assets to our work. 
• SEL is a field-in-progress. Camp Fire acknowledges that most SEL standards are rooted in Eurocentric norms: We know we can’t dismantle white supremacy without acknowledging we are immersed in it. We are always working to improve and avoid any potential SEL equity pitfalls.
  
• SEL can give us a way to connect and heal. CASEL just shared in their latest newsletter: “Unpack our nation’s headlines and you’ll find an urgent call for social and emotional learning. Our community is still reeling from the pandemic, the tumultuous election, the violent attack on the Capitol, and more. SEL gives us a way forward, a way to connect and to heal. During times like these, we rely on our social and emotional competencies to help us rebuild and strengthen our relationships, work together to examine issues and create solutions, and ultimately heal as individuals and as a nation.”

At Camp Fire, SEL, developmental relationships and equity initiatives work together to deliver on our promise—to give all kids the opportunity to find their sparks, lift their voices and discover who they are. 

“At Camp Fire, we take a whole-child approach by intentionally creating the environment, experiences, and relationships needed to ignite potential in every youth participant,” says Shawna Rosenzweig, Camp Fire’s chief strategy officer. ”We recognize every young person deserves the opportunity to pursue their passions, embark on a journey of self-discovery, and is capable of developing essential skills and mindsets that have long term benefits and make a positive societal impact.” 

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The past eight months have been tumultuous and uncertain. With the Fall school-year approaching, COVID-19 still at large, and the 2020 election around the corner, everything continues to feel up in the air.

However, one thing we have learned through this pandemic is that youth development organizations, like Camp Fire, are essential to the wellbeing of young people and their families — especially during crises.

During 2018-2019, Camp Fire designed and implemented a new “Camp Fire Journey” that emphasizes the core experiences every young person will encounter in our programs, what they learn, and the long-term societal impacts of those experiences.

Our powerful youth experiences?

• Experiential learning in, for, or about the community or outdoors
• Diverse, equitable environments that are inclusive of all young people
• Adults who prioritize youth
• Spark discovery (interest exploration)
• Peer-to-peer engagement
• Goal Management

These lead to essential skills and mindsets every young person needs to thrive now and in the future, like positive identity, social skills, contribution, and more.

Through a substantial network-wide survey and evaluation process, we complete assessments on our programs to learn what we are doing right, areas we can improve, and have a better understanding of who we are serving in our programs and at our councils as a whole. We call this the People & Impact Report. In this report, you can see how many youth and families we served, what type of programs we offered, how many trainings our staff completed, and much more. And numbers aren’t the only thing you will find – you will not only see who we serve and what we do but also, why it matters.

We serve youth in many different settings, including out-of-school time programs (club, school break camp, before and after school, etc.), in-school programs, teen and service leadership programs, and environmental and camp programs.

In the summer of 2019, 36,560 youth attended a resident camp, day camp, or environmental education program, instilling in youth a desire to care for our planet as well as a much-needed break from screentime.

Over the past year, Camp Fire partnered with over 900 community organizations and offered community-based training to more than 10,646 youth and adults in areas such as social-emotional learning for youth, supporting LGBTQ+ youth and adult trainings, professionalizing youth work, mental health first aid and more.

Camp Fire Walla Walla

Volunteers contributed over 240,000 hours of service to Camp Fire and the community. This time is equivalent to approximately 130 full-time positions – donating the equivalent of more than $6 million. Camp Fire staff also completed professional development courses, training, and certifications all across the country to ensure that we are providing the best quality programs possible.

2020 certainly looks different than any year previous, so with virtual camps and alternative programming, our next People & Impact report might look a little different. But our main goal will never change: supporting young people on their journey to self-discovery. We’re here for you no matter what.

Want to know more? Check out the full report.

https://campfire.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/PeopleImpactPQA2018-2019.pdf

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Camp Fire is part of the

Social distancing has drastically changed everyday life for most Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some families with children are spending much more time together at home. Other parents are spending long hours providing needed community services while family and friends help care for their out-of-school children. Teachers and positive youth development staff around the country are discovering how to keep kids engaged and growing remotely in real-time.   

What hasn’t changed? The fact that kids need us. 

Social distancing doesn’t dim our need for positive relationships. Social scientists say that thriving kids—and adults!—all have one thing in common: strong, supportive relationships. Research shows that children who have a network of stable connections with the adults in their lives have better academic outcomes, higher social-emotional skills and lower rates of risky behavior. 

But not every kid has that supportive web of positive adult relationships. And now that many children are out of school and isolated at home, what web there was may be stretched thin. 

Studies conducted long before the pandemic showed that 22 percent of middle and high school students reported having no supportive relationships with adults in their lives. Eighteen percent said they just had one. 

Caring adults can step into that gap—at a safe distance!—to make sure children are supported during this time. At Camp Fire, we’ve appreciated the Search Institute’s research on “developmental relationships”—or positive, supportive relationships with adults that help kids thrive. True to form, they quickly came out with a checklist of 19 things adults can do to support kids during the COVID-19 crisis. 

Based on their Developmental Relationships Framework, their list is organized by the five elements supportive relationships include: Express Care, Challenge Growth, Provide Support, Share Power, and Expand Possibilities. (Get their handy framework PDF here in Spanish and English!) Inspired by their list, we wanted to add some more ideas of our own:

Here are 10 more ways to #investinkids while social distancing:

Express Care: Show kids that they matter to you.

• Be Dependable: Set up a regular video call with a young relative, mentee or close friends’ kids to check-in. Keep that appointment!
• Listen: Give the kids in your life time to express their concerns, worries and fears about the pandemic and social distancing without interrupting. It’s tempting to cut them off early to assure them everything will be OK. Let them talk through their thoughts first. Let them know you hear them, then reassure them. 

Challenge Growth: Push kids to keep getting better. 

• Hold Each Other Accountable: Have a similar goal to one of the kids in your life? Be accountability buddies! Maybe you both want to draw every day. Or move more. Or take turns calling elderly relatives. Set a check-in time to report your progress to each other, so you both stay on track.

• Reflect: Camp Fire integrates reflection practices into our programs. Reflection is even more important in times of stress and big changes. Model reflection skills—and a growth mindset—by sharing what you’re learning during social distancing. Have you made any mistakes? Have you uncovered something new about yourself or the people you’re isolating with? What are you feeling grateful for right now? Reflect on it all with the kids in your life. You can use these three easy questions to have a reflection conversation. You can also use them as journaling prompts!
  1. What? What happened? What are the facts of your experience? 
  2. So What? What did you feel? What did other people feel? 
  3. Now What? What did the experience mean to you? To other people? What will you change in the future? Is there anything you need or want to do right now?  

Provide Support: Help kids complete tasks and achieve goals.

• Navigate: Kids’ lives are just as disrupted by social distancing as ours are. Help them brainstorm solutions to their frustrations. Are you a freelancer? Share your staying-productive tips with a kid struggling with distance learning at home. Are you good at long-distance friendships? Tell a teen who is missing their friends how you stay in touch with yours. You probably have more areas of expertise than you think—be a guide to a kid during this very weird time. 
• Advocate: Help the kids in your community get what they need. Help out-of-school kids from low-income families get access to healthy meals. Donate to your local food bank. Give to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s COVID-19 Response Fund. Keep an eye out for friends’ and neighbors’ pandemic-related GoFundMe campaigns.   

Share Power: Treat kids with respect and give them a say.

• Collaborate: Team up on creative projects: Write a story by alternating writing lines. Make a music video by combining funny phone footage. Mail a growing art collage back-and-forth. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as you’re making it together!
• Let me lead: If you’re connecting with your favorite kids at a distance, let them take the lead in how your remote relationship progresses. Ask them how often they want to connect and what method they want to use. Ask them how they want to spend your time together. Give them a sense of control during an otherwise chaotic time. 

Expand Possibilities: Connect kids with people and places that broaden their worlds. 

• Inspire: Have a sparks conversation with a kid in your life: What are they passionate about? What pushes them to learn? What gives them a purpose? Then go through your contact list to see if you know anybody who can help them (virtually) explore their spark. 
• Broaden Their Horizons: Make your next regular check-in with your favorite kid an adventure: Go on a virtual museum tour together. Explore a national park from your respectives couches. “Visit” a zoo together. Explore space. Go to a show. 

Need more ideas? Check in with our #investinkids partner organizations to see how other positive youth development organizations are supporting young people during this unprecedented pandemic.

The post 10 Ways to Invest in Kids…While You’re Social Distancing appeared first on Camp Fire.

It’s a universal human need. When we feel like we belong, we feel safe to be who we truly are—or who we truly want to become. We feel secure, seen and valued. We feel at home. 

At Camp Fire, we design our programs to develop a sense of belonging. It’s one of the seven essential skills and mindsets we measure as part of our #CampFireJourney. We want every young person who participates in Camp Fire to leave knowing they belong—at Camp Fire and in the wider world. 

Why? Belonging builds healthy communities. Kids who feel secure in their belonging help others know they belong, too. When young people belong, they help create caring environments that encourage and include others as well. 

Bonus: Belonging has also been shown to improve school behavior and engagement. Researchers who study belonging in the classroom say that students who are confident they belong “are more likely to persevere in the face of difficulty and do better in school.”  

In short, kids who belong are kids who thrive. So what can we do to help foster kids’ sense of belonging? Let’s ask an expert. 

Mecole Darden is Diamond Hill Station’s site director. Part of Camp Fire First Texas, Diamond Hill Station offers after-school programs and all-day programs during holiday breaks and the summer season. Kids ages 4 to 12 from five different schools come to Diamond Hill Station for its spark-based programming. 

“It’s very important to feel part of a group,” Mecole says. “Kids need to feel ‘I have somewhere I belong.’ “I’m safe here.’ ‘Anything I need to say, I can say. I can express myself.’” 

Start with a Warm Welcome

At Diamond Hill Station, belonging starts the moment kids walk through the door. Mecole says that Diamond Hill Station practices what they call the “Warm Welcome.” Every child is welcomed by name with their greeting of choice as they walk through the door. The kids participate, too: Being a greeter is one of the jobs children can select from the daily job board.  “It’s the first thing we do to create a community here,” explains Mecole.

Build Trust with Routines

Diamond Hill Station has a strong, consistent routine. From the Warm Welcome to bathroom breaks, snacktime and how they transition between activities—the schedule is stable and repeatable. Children may do different jobs and have different roles each day, but the routine remains the same. There’s no doubt about the schedule and what part they need to play to keep it going. 

“It’s calming for them to know what’s going to happen next,” Mecole says. “They know what the expectations are, and it helps them regulate their own behavior.” 

Mastering the routine also give children a sense of ownership. When new children come into the program, the old pros are ready and willing to teach them the ropes. 

“That’s something they really do naturally after being there for a while and seeing the consistency,” says Mecole. “Whenever a new kid comes in, a lot of kids take it upon themselves to pull them in and tell them about the expectations.”

Give Them Agency

Having a robust routine doesn’t mean children can’t think for themselves. From selecting their preferred greetings to coming up with their unique daily commitments, children at Diamond Hill Station learn to make choices for themselves. 

These lessons extend to rule-following as well: Instead of a long list of guidelines, Diamond Hill Station operates with a few very simple expectations, like “use walking feet,” “respect others,” and “have fun.” Children have to learn to interpret those expectations and help each other keep them. Rather than “tattling,” they are encouraged to remind one another about the expectations and try to work out conflicts on their own before bringing them to an adult.

Kids who have a responsibility in creating a positive environment are building belonging for themselves and others. 

Remove Shame

Mecole emphasizes how she and her staff communicate in a way that includes and encourages, not shames. 

For example, later in the day, the group comes together to reflect on how their daily commitments are going. Children measure their progress with a thumbs up if it’s going well, thumbs sideways if they are having some problems, and thumbs down if it’s really not working. 

“We teach them that not having a good day isn’t a shaming thing,” says Mecole. “We talk about what having a bad day means: It just means you get to try again the next day.”

Mecole has seen the impact of this approach, as children learn they won’t be shamed for making mistakes, expressing themselves or simply having different answers or ideas than their friends. They don’t have to constantly doubt their belonging. 

“It gives them huge confidence,” says Mecole. “I’ve seen children enter the program in a shell, but after being there a year, they have a voice. They are confident. They are alert. Everything flourishes.” 

Create Unifying Traditions

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of traditions to bind a group together. These traditions don’t have to be elaborate; they just have to be shared. 

Mecole uses a simple repeat-after-me chant to bring the group together at the start of each session. “We are the station, the Diamond Hill Station!” she sings. “It’s what we use to unite us every day.”  

Source: 

“What We Know About Belonging from Scientific Research,” by Carissa Romero. The Mindset Scholars Network. The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. September 2015. 

The post Five Ways to Help Kids Belong appeared first on Camp Fire.

In 2019, Camp Fire held a series of focus groups with a diverse range of councils to dive into what experiences they were providing and what impact their programs were making. With the help of Algorhythm, an expert in youth development program evaluation, we explored what really happens at Camp Fire and in our programs, why it matters, the short-term and long-term benefits, and how to best communicate it all in a new way.

Through this process, we mapped out what we call internally our “program framework”, or The Camp Fire Journey.

“We’re getting clear on who we really are, not shifting directions,” explains Shawna Rosenzweig, Chief Strategy Officer at Camp Fire National Headquarters, as she described the Journey’s development process.  “We identified a core set of experiences that every young person should have as part of their time in Camp Fire,” Shawna reports. 

Here’s what the Camp Fire Journey looks like:

WHAT WE DO 

These six powerful youth experiences (aka, what we do) include:

• Experiential learning in, for, or about the community or outdoors
• Diverse, equitable environments that are inclusive of all young people
• Adults who prioritize youth
• Spark discovery (interest exploration)
• Peer-to-peer engagement
• Goal Management

“We also identified a core set of skills and mindsets we want every young person to walk away from Camp Fire with,” Shawna says. 

WHY IT MATTERS

These seven essential skills and mindsets (our program outcomes that we measure) include:

• Environmental Stewardship
• Contribution
• Social Skills
• Self-Management
• Positive Identity
• Creative Thinking
• Belonging

Then Camp Fire and Algorhythm dove into the research that ties those social-emotional learning (SEL) capabilities to long-term benefits for both individuals (like academic success and career readiness) and our communities (societal impact like environmental stewardship and engaged citizens). 

“For the first time, we’re able to offer our councils a suite of research that backs up what they are doing: If we do this program, then this is likely to happen for young people,” Shawna explains. “And we also know how those young people then can make a positive societal impact.”

The Camp Fire Journey gives councils tangible tools to ensure their programming is delivering those six powerful youth experiences and teaching those seven essential skills and mindsets. It also assures parents that Camp Fire’s programming is intentional, powerful and designed to lead to their child’s life-long well-being. In addition, the Journey is a strong motivator for Camp Fire staff.

“It can help staff understand why what they do matters,” says Shawna. “You are going to impact this young person in their individual life and have an impact on society as a whole.”

In the coming year, we’ll be breaking down the Camp Fire Journey in more detail on the blog and our social media channels. Follow along as we chart a new course to “guide young people on their journey to self-discovery”—Camp Fire’s original mission.   

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Can you help us raise $5,000 before the end of the year through small, peer-to-peer donations? 

Friends of Camp Fire are helping youth thrive by creating their own online fundraisers through Donately. It’s easy, it’s free, and it’s a fun way to invest in Camp Fire kids. 

Start Fundraising Now!

We know there are a lot of worthy youth organizations raising funds right now, so here are a few reasons you can give when people ask you Why Camp Fire? 

We create powerful youth experiences.

1. All of our programs helps young people connect to the outdoors and their community through experiential learning This learning-by-doing helps kids get a wider view of the world, others and themselves. Learn more: 

• • The big benefits of being in nature
  • Volunteering helps kids thrive
  • Beyond Camp: Our out-of-school-time programs

2. We create diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) environments that make it safe for every young person to bring all of themselves to Camp Fire. Our staff is trained to honor, celebrate and center kids’ passions, backgrounds, experiences, cultures and identities. Learn more: 

• • This is what inclusion looks like
  • Meet Ben Matthews, Camp Fire’s Diversity & Inclusion Program Consultant
  • Inclusion & Diversity: Good for Kids

3. Speaking of staff, our adult employees and volunteers put youth first. Our goal is to create healthy, supportive relationships between adults and kids that can help young people thrive. Learn more:  

• • Camp Fire and Developmental Relationships: How strong connections help kids thrive
  • Developmental Relationships: What Camp Fire Columbia is learning
  • Developmental Relationships in Action

4. We help young people discover their sparks. We want every kid to explore their interests, try new things and find their passion(s). Learn more:  

• • Sparks help kids thrive!
  • 16 Reasons Sparks are Awesome—Science Says!
  • Be a sparks champion!

5. Our programs lift up “youth voice” and encourage strong peer-to-peer engagement. We know kids learn as much—or more—from each other as they do from our staff and volunteers. Learn more: 

• • What Youth Voice Means to Us
  • Five Ways You Can Promote Youth Voice
  • Camp Fire to Expand Teen Leadership Programs and Amplify Youth Voice

6. We help young people set goals, go after them, and reflect on the process. We help kids go from just wishing to making real life progress. Learn more: 

• • Six Foolproof Strategies for Going After Goals
  • How to Set Smart Goals–Whether You’re a Kid or a Kid-at-Heart
  • 3 Easy Questions for Self-Reflection

The post Why Camp Fire?  appeared first on Camp Fire.