Summer Should be for Everyone

As young people return to school, they will be asked by both peers and teachers what they did over the summer. Some kids and youth will have memories to share from day camps, overnight camps, internships, and other enrichment experiences. Many others won’t have those experiences to share.?

According to a new nationally representative poll of parents across the US conducted by Gallup in partnership with the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) and the American Camp Association (ACA), in 2023, 55% of K-12 youth in schools were engaged in organized summer opportunities including: day camps, overnight camps, summer school, community-based enrichment programs, internships and jobs. About half of parents surveyed said they wanted their children to participate in summer activities but cost was one of the main barriers, and 32% said cost was the number one barrier.?

Parents, educators and others in the field recognize that summer programs are an important component of young people’s academic, physical, mental, emotional and social health. Access to such important growth opportunities should not be limited by lack of financial resources. That is why we applaud and support our partners at NSLA and ACA who are doing important advocacy work to increase funding for summer programs.?

As an organization rooted in inclusion, Camp Fire is always finding new ways to expand access to summer programs. These important efforts take on many shapes including: making scholarships (known as “camperships”) available, providing gear libraries for young people who may not have the financial means to purchase everything on their summer “packing list”, and intentionally crafting our programs and spaces in ways that promote Inclusion, belonging, and thriving.

One of my favorite strategies is The Camp Fire National Friendship Fund. Our modern-day Friendship Fund has a historical precedent as Camp Fire’s emergency relief source in the 1950s through 1970s. Central to Camp Fire’s efforts to help the Prince William Sound area recover after the devastating Alaskan earthquake of 1964, the fund enabled delivery of supplies, a day camp in Seward, and camperships for Alaskan Native young women.?

The new version of the fund re-launched in 2022 and is made available to all Camp Fire’s affiliate camps.?

Here are some of the efforts supported by Camp Fire’s Friendship Fund:?

• Covering Camp Fire Samish tuition for families with limited incomes
• Buying outdoor gear (hiking boots, sleeping bags, water bottles, jackets, etc.) for campers with financial need at Camp Fire Snohomish
• Installing automatic door-openers at Camp Fire Minnesota’s dining hall and community center to boost accessibility
• Buying swim shirts for Camp Fire Heart of Iowa campers and staff, as part of a new gender-inclusive & gender-neutral swim dress-code policy
• Supporting a new Leader-in-Training program for Indigenous youth at Camp Fire Alaska that provided free camp tuition, stipends and workforce skills training

I’d love to hear what you are doing at your organizations to lower the financial barrier to summer programs in the comments. I’m inspired by ?The #SummerForAllAct recently introduced by Senator Chris Murphy would help provide high-quality summer enrichment opportunities to kids and families who otherwise would not have access to these programs. Join us in advocating to #KeepKidsLearning and learn more about the legislation: https://www.summerlearning.org/summerforall/

Together, we can ensure every young person has a summer memory to share on that first day back to school.