Nothing is more empowering than learning. For girls, nothing is more empowering than learning how to become beautiful on both the outside and the inside. One summer camp, Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp, is teaching girls to do just that. Here, fellow students and staff don’t care what you look like; in fact, campers are encouraged to embrace your and others’ differences. Here, students learn how to turn their passions into positive actions. Here, students learn what’s in make-up, where their food comes from, why clean air is important, and, overall, how to become a inspirational leader. Watch this two minute video about the camp to be extra moved.
Maybe your progressive kid is concerned about global warming, about violence in the neighborhood, about ending homelessness or animal cruelty, or about everyone having the right to get married? These are kids focused on making a difference in the world, and who want to meet other young leaders who feel the same way.
YEA is a nonprofit organization that trains youth to build the knowledge, skills, confidence, and community to become activists and leaders for social change for years to come. Their flagship program, YEA Camp, is a week-long summer camp, with four sessions in three states, for youth who want to make a difference in the world. In only three years, the camp has expanded from the West to East coast. This year, camps will be held in Oregon, California, and New Jersey. Camp dates will be July 7-13 and July 14-20, July 21-28, and August 5-12, respectively.
Once camp is over, students return home equipped and excited about making a difference in their communities. Deborah, 14, in Oregon, did a fundraising appeal in front of 900 people at Planned Parenthood’s annual luncheon that raised over $170,000, Emily, 14, in California convinced her school to adopt a new student-driven anti-bullying campaign, and Owen, 17, from Illinois persuaded her city to lower the minimum age for volunteers at animal shelters. These are just a few examples of how girls who have learned to become truly empowered and thus truly beautiful. We can’t wait til our kids are old enough to go to Yea Camp, and then come home and kick our activist asses into extra top gear.
e-mail Nora at [email protected] for more info