Twenty-six million kids attend camp each summer.

Twenty-one thousand camps operate across America.

And yet, we have never had a formal “Camp Caucus” on Capitol Hill.

No vehicle to regularly engage and educate members of Congress about issues that matter to America’s Camps.

No regular way for folks in Congress to show their support and to show up for America’s camps, campers, counselors, and camp families.

While other fields have had organized coalitions fighting for their interests for decades, camps have been fighting for their place at the table for the last several years.

That changes now.

The Missing Piece

For years, our advocacy has been mostly reactive.

We have a crisis. We show up. We ask for help, and generally that help comes, but long after we needed it.

We show up for Hill Days. We hire lobbyists (who’ve been great, mind you) to play defense when regulations threaten our operations.

Individual camps build relationships with their local representatives if they can.

But there's never been a formal camp caucus.

Never been a year-round structure connecting camps to the policy conversations that matter with the people making the rules, operating the political systems, and allocating the resources to transform our field.

The cost of this invisibility is real.

Even if camps haven’t felt the impact directly yet, we're missing opportunities every session.

When Congress allocates billions for childcare, camps aren't in the room.

When mental health funding flows to youth programs, we're an afterthought.

When workforce development initiatives launch, no one thinks of the ways camp counselors are training for the job force.

Half of all school-aged children spend part of their summer at camp.

We provide critical childcare for working parents during the summer.

We are the largest sphere of summer youth development.

We provide amazing workforce development experiences for young workers…a million of them!

But without a formal voice, we remain invisible in these conversations.

During COVID, we saw what was possible when ACA led the charge to get camps open and secure PPP funding. We proved camps could have real influence in Washington.

It was and is time to think bigger.

Camp as the Solution

Here's what policymakers don't yet understand: camps are the hack.

While K-12 education struggles to build character and resilience, we do it in just a few short weeks.

While colleges debate how to prepare students for an AI-infused world, we're already teaching the skills that matter.

Think leadership, empathy, independence, teamwork, and creative problem-solving. All the deeply human stuff.

We're incredibly efficient at producing the outcomes everyone wants.

And we do it at scale.

The opportunity is massive. Congress cares about issues where camps already excel. We just haven't connected those dots for them.

Almost every member of Congress went to camp themselves. So did their staffers. They all want to help.

They just need to make the connection between their childhood memories and the policy solutions sitting right in front of them.

The Path Forward

This fall, I've headed to Washington to build the first formal Congressional Camp Caucus.

The plan? Straightforward.

Find congressional champions willing to join our Camp Caucus and put their names on it.

Create briefings to educate members about our collective camp impact.

Build a coalition to ensure that when relevant legislation emerges, camps are part of the conversation.

This isn't about defending against bad regulations anymore. It's about claiming our place as an essential developmental experience for kids.

It's about accessing funding streams. It's about getting donors and foundations to see camps as the solution we know we are.

The days of camps being invisible are over. But this only works if we do it together.

Joining the Movement

Building a caucus requires showing broad support. Congressional leaders need to see that camps across America are unified, organized, and ready to engage.

Share this with every camp professional you know. Every camp director, board member, camp family, and advocate needs to understand what's at stake and what's possible.

Thank you for coming along on this journey.

Over the coming months, I'll share progress from Washington and ways you and your camp can be part of this historic effort.

The strength of our advocacy depends on the size and unity of our coalition.

Twenty-one thousand camps speaking with one voice will be impossible to ignore.

For too long, the only way to advocate for camps was by running a great program and hoping someone noticed.

Now we have a vehicle to advocate for the entire field.

Let's use it.

Join the movement. Get updates on the Camp Caucus and learn how you can support camp advocacy in DC.

Scott Brody is ACA’s Government Affairs co-chair and leads the association’s advocacy efforts in Washington, DC. He served as ACA National Board Chair during the COVID-19 crisis, helping guide camps nationwide through safe reopening while securing unprecedented federal support. A camp director for more than 30 years, Scott is Director Emeritus of Camps Kenwood & Evergreen and owner of Everwood Day Camp and Camp Sewataro. He has dedicated his career to advancing the life-changing impact of camp and championing its value on a national stage.

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