Social Justice & Equity

Summer camp is supposed to be a place where kids make lifelong friendships, explore new ideas, and build up their self-confidence in a supportive environment removed from the pressures of everyday life. Every child should feel supported, appreciated, and inspired by their counselors.

How do camps incorporate social justice into staff training programs? Five passionate, experienced, and insightful camp leaders discuss their professional and personal development as social justice practitioners and share insights for other camps to enhance and refine their strategies and philosophies to create greater inclusion for staff and all members of the camp community.

An interview with Nick Teich, founder and CEO of Camp Aranu’tiq. Camp Aranu'tiq of Harbor Camps is a nonprofit program serving transgender and gender-variant youth and their families. Camp Aranu'tiq is for those who feel they do not fit into the norms our society has prescribed for gender. This includes those who have "transitioned," those who happen to express their gender differently than others, and those who may experience teasing or bullying because of their gender.

How do camps incorporate social justice into their programming for campers? Five passionate, experienced, and insightful camp administrators took their time to share their camps' approaches to this topic.

Eden Village Camp, the Jewish farm-to-table sleepaway camp in Putnam Valley, New York, has an unusual business plan: to "be the camp we wish to see," borrowing from Ghandi's quote encouraging us to "be the change you wish to see." Social justice and environmental responsibility are guiding lights of Eden Village's community, and this is evident at all levels of the camp's operations, from their organic and local food to the world-fixing themes of many activities.

“You get all those different kids at camp, but it wasn’t there. It didn’t affect them there. There was so much love in the air. They came together, bonding, making friends, doing...