Camp Counselors
2022–2025 Promoting Character Through Counselors-In-Training Programs at Medical Specialty Camps
Over the course of three years, the American Camp Association collaborated with Abt Global and SeriousFun Children’s Network on a special project: Promoting Character Through Counselors-in-Training Programs at Medical Specialty Camps, made possible through the support from the John Templeton Foundation.
For more than a century, character development has been foundational to the camp experience, as each camp can offer a variety of opportunities to develop important character strengths and skills. Acknowledging the formative role camp plays in young people’s lives, there is an opportunity to understand character development from the perspective of medical specialty camps where campers use their character strengths and resilience to overcome adversity regularly. Further, focusing on counselor-in-training programs highlights the unique perspectives of adolescents and young adults living with disabilities and illnesses as they strived to “give back” to and become leaders in their camp communities. Building knowledge and understanding about the development of character (and specific character strengths) in resilient populations is an important contribution to the study of summer camps, as well as the greater youth development ecosystem.
This project engaged 12 medical specialty camps from around the world in a community of practice to create, disseminate, and implement new ideas, specifically about how to promote character in counselor-in-training programs in medical specialty camps. The community of practice participants and project partners collaboratively developed a character development framework and a toolkit designed to explain to camp practitioners how to elevate seven character strengths in their unique camp settings. These strengths were chosen by the community of practice members for their peers working at medical specialty camps, to prioritize character work that prioritizes the unique population of adolescents and young adults living with disabilities and illnesses.
Toolkit
- Character Playbook for CIT Programs at Medical Specialty Camps
- Training Videos (in production)
- Facilitation Guides (in production)
- Community of Practice Suggested Resources (in review)
2024–2027 Leadership Pathways Project
Up to 20 grant recipients will receive up to $18,000 per year for three years to support creating, improving, or expanding counselor-in-training or similar leadership development programs at camp. Grantees will work with a peer cohort to design, implement, and improve a counselor-in-training (CIT)-related initiative to increase access to camp leadership pathways for young people of diverse backgrounds, abilities, and identities.
All nonprofit camps and government agency organizations (i.e. parks & rec) that run camps were invited to apply during the application window that closed on April 11. They did not need to have a grant writer to submit, nor did the camp need to be ACA accredited. Applying to (or receiving) this grant does not disqualify camps from future grant opportunities through ACA.
The application deadline was April 11, 2024.
Phase 2 Awarded Grantees
We are pleased to announce our awarded grantees for Phase 2 (2024-2027)!
- Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project - Camp ANV (California)
- B'nai B'rith Camp, LLC / B'nai B'rith Men's Camp Association - BB Camp (Oregon)
- Boys & Girls Club of San Francisco - Camp Mendocino (California)
- Butler Community Arts School - Butler Community Arts School (Indiana)
- Camp Fire Alaska - Camp K on Kenai Lake (Alaska)
- Camp for All Kids - Four Star Fellowship Program (Wisconsin)
- Camp Hazen YMCA (Connecticut)
- Easterseals Central Illinois - Timber Pointe Outdoor Center (Illinois)
- Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta - Camp Meriwether and Camp Misty Mountain (Georgia)
- Happiness Is Camping (New Jersey)
- Live Oak Wilderness Camp (Mississippi, serving New Orleans youth)
- Maven Youth - LGBT+ Youth Summer Tech Camp (Texas)
- No Limits Foundation - Camp No Limits (Maine)
- Piers Park Sailing Center - Future Leaders Summer Camp (Massachusetts)
- The Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center (New Hampshire)
- The Fresh Air Fund (New York)
- The H.E.A.R.T. Center (Arizona)
- The TVRC Education Foundation, Inc - Teton Valley Ranch Camp (Wyoming)
- University of Montana spectrUM Discovery Area - spectrUM Science Camps (Montana)
- Wa-Ya Outdoor Institute - Camp Wa-Ya (Washington)
- YWCA VT Camp Hochelaga (Vermont)
Read the press release.
Previous Phase 1 Awarded Grantees
Here are the awarded grantees from Phase 1 (2021-2024)
- Camp Common Ground
- Big Sur Land Trust Youth Outdoor Programs
- Tampa YMCA
- Camp Blodgett
- Aspire
- Trail Blazers
- Camp Santa Maria
- Montgomery County Recreation
- NatureBridge
- YMCA of Greater Seattle
- Camp Bovey
- Camp Mendocino
- Easterseals Colorado
- 4-H Primitive Pursuits
- Sherwood Forest
- Timber Pointe Outdoor Center
- Camp Kaufmann
- Camp Mokule’ia
- Lexington Recreation and Community Programs
- Acta Non Verba
- PARI Summer Space Camps
This project is made possible through the generous support of Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies.