Camp Fire works to realize the dignity and worth of each individual and to eliminate human barriers based on all assumptions that prejudice individuals. Designed and implemented to reduce sexual, racial, religious, and cultural stereotypes and to foster positive intercultural relationships, in Camp Fire, everyone is welcome.
One of Camp Fire’s core values is inclusion. That means not just accepting every kid that signs up for a program, but proactively reaching out to young people who might lack access or be overlooked. What does that look like?
Take Camp Fire Green Country as an example. Several years ago, the council’s board made an intentional decision to invite underserved youth to participate. “We formed partnerships with school and community-based organizations to meet young people where they are”, says Jenny Briggs, program director. “Our programs are as different as the young people we are serving.”
Camp Fire Green Country’s programs and projects include:
This kind of intentionally inclusive programming is happening at Camp Fire councils all over the country. Check out a few of the unique camp programs available:
This article originally appeared on Camp Fire National’s website.
COVID-19 has changed many things about how we conduct business on a day-to-day basis. This is no exception at Camp Fire Sunshine, especially as we look ahead to the start of our summer programming.
As we have planned our procedures and practices for this summer, we have chosen to abide by the recommendations for summer camps as published by the American Camping Association.
Some daily practices to protect our day campers who will spend the majority of their day at our Program Center include:
With these guidelines in place, we have opted to not require youth or staff to wear face masks during program time. Many activities take place outside during the day, and it’s our experience that wearing a mask in the heat is not a safe nor sustainable practice. However, we will require masks to be worn on the van and bus.
In addition to making adjustments to our daily in-house practices, field trips and Summer Challenge projects will also look slightly different from our normal line-up. In light of COVID-19, many locations have had to make schedule or procedure changes that will impact when we’re able to visit, if at all. We anticipate throughout the summer having to make abrupt schedule changes. We are going into the summer with a flexible mindset, and thank you for being flexible with us!
Every effort is being made by the Camp Fire staff and leadership to ensure our campers remain safe and healthy this summer. And while their physical health is at the forefront of everyone’s mind, we strongly believe that the emotional and mental well-being of our kids are equally important. Efforts being made towards that goal include planning plenty of time outdoors enjoying play and sunshine, encouraging positive interactions with peers and leaders, and an ongoing enforcement of a sense of normalcy.
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Lynn Anne, Executive Director. She can be reached via e-mail at lynnannec@campfire-sunshine.org, or by calling our office at 863-688-5491.
Looking for trusted resources? Want to get your kids outside a little more? Would you like to help fill their time with something other than TV/video games/school work? Are you interested in fun, engaging family activities?
*The new Federal Stimulus package rewards all taxpayers for their generosity. You can deduct up to $300 for charitable donations on your 2020 federal tax return (even if you do not itemize your taxes). A win for you, Camp Fire, and kids! Learn more.
This article originally appear on the Camp Fire National website.
Written by Julia Fleenor Bejarano – Marketing Coordinator, Camp Fire NHQ
This post was originally published on Camp Fire National’s website.
Before we begin, take a deep breath with me:
In…1…2…3…
Out…1…2…3…
Lower your shoulders from your ears and roll them backward.
Stop your tongue from pressing into the top of your mouth.
Unclench your jaw.
Grab a glass of water.
Stress is a word everyone is familiar with. Simply living as a human on this planet requires some levels of stress – feeding ourselves, getting the kids to practice, finishing a term paper. Generally, our healthy minds and bodies can manage these daily stresses and continue to function at a high level. We may not even realize we are experiencing stress because our bodies are able to adapt well and can return back to a neutral state once the stress has been alleviated.
I felt like, for the most part, my body and mind handled stress pretty well. Obviously there were times when I felt stress more than others, and I had to work a little harder to adapt. But generally, I could trust my mind and body to do what I needed them to do – keep me going.
Then COVID-19 came.
Stress has a whole new feeling and definition for me now. My workflow was abruptly changed. My daily routine halted. People in my house lost their jobs. Everything about my life changed and very quickly. Pretty soon after, my appetite and sleep schedule started fluctuating. Then came the anxiety, depression, disassociation, intense joy, moments of clarity, and then an inability to concentrate. My mood was all over the place (and still is).
For a lot of us, we don’t realize we are experiencing stress until it starts to affect our minds: our mood, our ability to concentrate, the presence of anxiety. However, a lot of the time, our bodies actually react first, often in small ways that we tend not to notice. When we did the relaxation exercise at the beginning of this post, were you surprised to realize that you had been clenching your jaw all day? Or that your shoulders had slowly been tensing and rising closer to your ears? I find myself having to unclench multiple times a day. Our bodies hold on to stress just like our minds do.
So how do we manage stress, when so often it doesn’t come to our attention until it starts affecting our ability to function at our best, or, in the era of COVID-19, our ability to maintain a relatively healthy mental and physical life while so much is unknown?
A good place to start is beginning to create habits of self-care.
Self-care is a word we all heard thousands of times before the Corona era. It has always been something that a lot of us knew is important but always wished we were better at. My body and mind’s ability to react to the stress of COVID-19 (or lack thereof) made the need for self-care even more evident to me. Nothing gets you to reexamine your priorities like a global health pandemic.
Self-care can look and feel like many different things. The key, however, is that it is a consistent practice to help keep you at your best in the good times, and keep you from completely shutting down during the bad.
Think of yourself as a pressure cooker. Everyday life consistently adds stress – pressure – to our lives. When that pressure never gets released, eventually there is a breaking point and the whole thing explodes. This can look like completely losing your temper on your family, losing your ability to control your emotions, or even disassociating from life completely.
What self-care does is slowly let out some of that pressure on a regular basis so that we never get to the point of exploding. Those stress (pressure) releasers will be different for every person and may need to happen at different frequencies, but they are vital to living a healthy life both physically and mentally. For some, self-care may look like doing some sort of physical activity every day. For others, it might look like taking alone time every week. A fellow Camp Fire NHQ staffer has weekly “Board meetings” for her “Self-care foundation” so she always has time to do what she wants or needs to do for herself without work, kids, or relationships to worry about. (There are hundreds of articles out there listing different self-care activities. Psychology Today’s 12 Ways to Take Better Care of Yourself is good place to start.)
Obviously, living during the time of COVID-19 adds big, new stressors to our lives. The amount and frequency of stress-relieving practices we have in our lives may need to increase in order to help us stay as healthy as possible.
For that reason, Camp Fire wants to invite you to join us for our #HappyCamper Challenge:
We are challenging you to dedicate the month of May to self-care. Whether you have already made self-care a regular part of your life, or you want to start figuring out what that looks like for you for the first time, we want you to make a commitment to taking time for yourself for the next 30 days. Making small, consistent choices to put your mental and physical health first is essential to living a full, thriving life. Now more than ever we need self-care habits to help us navigate the unknown territory of COVID-19. Take the pledge and give yourself some love this month (and earn a really cool #HappyCamper Challenge digital badge!).
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CHALLENGE
For those of you who already practice self-care regularly, maybe now is a good time to reevaluate those practices.
For those of us that are starting this journey for the first time, here are some things to think about when determining what your self-care practices might be:
Still need some ideas? Try some of the things on our Self-Care Checklist!
You deserve to take care of yourself. Take the pledge to practice 30 days of self-care and earn your digital badge.
I want to be clear that while self-care is important for everyone, I know there are people in situations currently that need more than help de-stressing.
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger or need immediate assistance, please call 911.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
If you are someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-TALK (8255).
If you or someone you know needs a safe, judgment-free place to talk, please call the Trevor Project Lifeline for a supportive LGBTQIA+ community member to reach out to you: 1-866-488-7386.
If you or someone you know is experiencing food scarcity, need help with rent/utilities, contact your local United Way to be connected to services in your area.
Camp Fire is part of the #InvestinKids campaign, a movement by 12 leading youth organizations to encourage people to give their voice, time and dollars to our country’s youth. And we’re all having to get creative about how to invest in kids when we’re social distancing to protect each other from the coronavirus. You can always invest your dollars, but when it comes to investing our voices and time…we’re all figuring out how to do that at a distance.
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:
Express Care: Show kids that they matter to you.
Challenge Growth: Push kids to keep getting better.
Provide Support: Help kids complete tasks and achieve goals.
Share Power: Treat kids with respect and give them a say.
Expand Possibilities: Connect kids with people and places that broaden their worlds.
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.
This post originally appeared on Camp Fire National Headquarters’ blog.
This post was originally published by Youth Service America. Read the original post here.
Volunteering and service are more important during a crisis than ever. Social distancing does not mean social isolation. We’re all in this together, so be a helper. Let’s all do our part to contribute to the common good, so that when this crisis is over, we’re proud of how we came together to keep our young people, our communities, and our democracies thriving.
Here are 10 ideas for how you can help your community respond to the coronavirus crisis.
1. Help seniors or others who are isolated – check in with them to see what they need; then run errands, deliver food and medication, pick up library materials (if your libraries are still open), etc. Make regular phone or video call visits to combat social isolation/loneliness. Make cards or write letters, emails, or social media messages to seniors in nursing homes who can’t have visitors.
2. Help provide access to meals for students who rely on school meals. Many states and school districts are providing “grab and go” meal pick-up locations, and you can help by spreading the word and helping kids get to sites if they’re not within walking distance. Donate to your local food banks. When donating, consider starting with your wallet instead of your pantry. Donating money gives food banks flexibility to buy exactly what they need when they need it. Work with local entrepreneurs to turn closed restaurants into community kitchens, following the lead of Jose Andres.
3. Older teens and college students can provide childcare for family/friends/neighbors if schools are closed, but parents still have to work. Organize a neighborhood childcare co-op to share the responsibility. There are a ton of resources including these 101+ ideas, virtual field trips, and lessons from Scholastic’s Learn from Home website,
For ideas 1, 2, and 3, adapt this guide that shows how to create a “neighborhood pod,” a DIY task force for organizing a community. The Google doc shows how to create a contact sheet, a group chat, and a list of questions around how to help each other during crises like the coronavirus. You can also connect via neighborhood email list-servs, Facebook groups, or Nextdoor.
4. Raise money for relief organizations or local nonprofits. Help spread the word to crowdfund these coronavirus relief funds from Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s COVID-19 Response Fund, GoFundMe, GlobalGiving, and Global Impact to help provide needed medical supplies, public health support, and more. Research online to find local fundraisers to help people in your community or support any local nonprofit that has increased needs to meet because of this crisis. Fundraising can be a fun activity to spend time doing while schools are closed. Make cards, artwork, jewelry, or other handcrafted items to sell virtually. Organize virtual “thons” (walk, skate, bowl, swim, bike, rock, read, dance) of an activity that people can do and track individually. Anython and RallyUpare two online tools that can help you organize these.
5. Donate blood. As the number of individuals with coronavirus increases, fewer eligible donors will be able to give making it extremely difficult for inventory to recover if we get to shortage levels. Healthy, eligible individuals are encouraged to schedule a blood or platelet donation appointment at RedCrossBlood.org today to help maintain a sufficient blood supply and avoid any potential shortages.
6. Foster shelter animals. Many shelters have already had to close to the public or cancel events, and many others may need to do so in the coming days ― meaning fewer pets are being adopted out, even as animals continue to come in. Shelters want to move as many animals as possible off the premises and into foster homes, in case they’re hit with staffing shortages as employees and volunteers get sick or need to self-quarantine. Find a shelter or rescue organization near you.
7. Protect the mental health of your family, friends, and neighbors. Check out these resources from the Born This Way Foundation and de-stress by reading stories on Channel Kindness. For those experiencing mental health challenges during this time, there are resources like the Disaster Distress Helpline. Take a break from the news and go outside, play a game, watch your favorite tv show or a movie, etc. To support others who are having a hard time right now, one expert says that just dismissing their worries can be counterproductive. “If I tell you, don’t worry about it, everything’s fine, that really discounts my concerns.” Instead, “with our friends and families that are feeling distressed, we can empathize and we can validate that this can be a really scary, anxiety-provoking time.” Rather than telling someone not to worry, consider asking what they are doing for self-care. And stay in touch if you can, “because when we sit with our thoughts all by ourselves, they can spiral.”
8. Spread facts and promote the behaviors individuals should be doing to stop the spread of the virus. Scholastic has resources to teach about the coronavirus for grades preK-3, 4-5, and 6-12. Stop misinformation by always using official sources like the CDC, WHO, or your state or local government. Read this guide on spotting coronavirus misinformation, and direct your friends and family to WHO’s EPI-WIN project for mythbusters, advice, and info about the coronavirus.
9. Fight xenophobia and racism around the origin/spread of the virus. Jason Oliver Chang, an associate professor of history and Asian American studies at the University of Connecticut, started a crowdsourced document with resources for fighting racism around coronavirus. The document notes that many are using the hashtag #IAmNotAVirus to share anti-racist messages during the outbreak. Learn how to have conversations about the racism and xenophobia that coronavirus brings up.
10. Advocate at the local level for relief & support for vulnerable populations and those affected by the economic disruptions (people out of work or not being paid because of closures caused by the virus). Use our collection of advocacy tools to get started.
This post was copied from Camp Fire National.
Absolutely Incredible Kid Day® counters those messages with an outpouring of positivity on the day itself—and a focus on making encouraging kids a life-long habit.
Positive psychology researchers have studied how our brains are hardwired to respond quickly and intensely to negative messages. It’s how we evolved to survive. But so many of our modern-day negative messages aren’t life-threatening. Just dream-stopping. Spirit-slowing. Soul-crushing. Studies show it takes between three to seven positive messages to counteract the blow of one negative message.
Camp Fire founded this annual tradition in 1997 because we wanted to encourage adults to make encouraging kids a priority. Why? Because words are powerful. They can lead kids to discover their spark, help them cultivate a growth mindset, motivate them to go after their goals, and encourage them to reflect on their progress. But most of all, they can help kids feel loved and teach them to love themselves!
That’s why telling the kids in your life they are important, unique and good enough (right now, right as they are) is so vital.
Not sure where to start? It’s not hard to make a big impact on AIKD. Meet the young person where they are at and communicate in their favorite medium. Make your compliments specific to their strengths, behaviors and character. Tell them exactly how they’ve made your life better. Then repeat. Often!
Ready to dive in?
Will you join us?
This post originally appeared at campfire.org/blog/article/power-of-words/.
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.
CAMP FIRE TESUYA
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.’”
CAMP FIRE COLUMBIA
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.
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.
CAMP FIRE ALABAMA
“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.”
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.
CAMP FIRE ALASKA
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.
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.
CAMP FIRE GOLDEN EMPIRE
“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.”
CAMP FIRE ORCA
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:
This blog originally appeared on campfire.org.
“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.
Young people want to shape the world.
Camp Fire provides the opportunity to find their spark, lift their voice, and discover who they are.
In Camp Fire, it begins now.
© 2024 Camp Fire Sunshine Central Florida
