Happy Day 9 of

If you haven’t heard, 12 Days of YEA Camp Heroes is part of our end-of-year fundraising campaign, If Not for YEA Camp… to look at how our campers are making a difference that, according to them, they would not have done if they hadn’t attended.

Today’s featured camper, 16-year-0ld Leah (left) from Connecticut, is dedicated to helping animals, and we are so proud that she has put her huge passion into so much action since camp!

Leah started the CARE Club at her school this year, and it has already been very successful. The club has 20 active members and many more supporters, and is working on several important projects. So far they set up a collection drive at school for the local Humane Society, held a screening of the great film “Blackfish” about the abuse of orcas at SeaWorld, and set up a table in the cafeteria to inform students about animal cruelty issues.

Check out Leah with the packed car of donated items the club collected for the local shelter!

They also achieved a huge victory getting Meatless Mondays implemented in their school district! This will mean thousands of students eating less meat each week — a huge win for animals, the environment, and their health.

We have been asking campers about the difference YEA Camp has made in their activism, and were so inspired by Leah’s answer to our “If Not for YEA Camp…” question.

Leah says, “If not for YEA Camp, I wouldn’t have known how to start my animal rights club. I wouldn’t have known how to recruit members, plan club activities, or known how to fundraise or campaign for my club properly. I wouldn’t have understood the importance of using good communication skills to get my message across or how to find the right people to support me in my efforts. I’m very thankful that I now have these skills. I always had the passion and the ability to come up with ideas to help the animals I care so deeply about, but it wasn’t until YEA Camp that I was able to fully harness that passion and put together my ideas to make an action plan worth completing.”

We are so proud of all Leah has accomplished — and she is just getting started! She’s got a lot more planned out in this awesome notebook of hers!

Your donation to YEA Camp helps young people like Leah to develop the skills to run school clubs and campaigns of their choosing, to build confidence to speak up for what’s important to them, and to have a community to support them along the way.

A generous supporter is matching all donations up to $2500 until the end of the year, making your donation go twice as far! Will you make a donation to help us grow? You can do so here. We so appreciate your continued support!

Tune in tomorrow for Day 9 of 12 Days of YEA Camp Heroes!

Missed previous days of YEA Camp Heroes? Get caught up on these inspiring stories! Here’s Day 1 about Megan in Massachusetts raising money for the homeless, Day 2 showcasing Joyce in New Jersey speaking out about bullying, Day 3 highlighting Maddie in Colorado advocating for animals, Day 4 about Lia from Washington state working to address the stigma of mental illness and reducing teen suicide, Day 5 about Roberto from North Carolina speaking more confidently about progressive causes, Day 6 about Ana from California advocating for women, workers, animals, and more, Day 7 about Jia Hui’s animal advocacy, and  Day 8 about Shelby’s advocacy for gay and transgender rights.

Know a 12-17 year-old who would love YEA Camp? We’ve got an early bird discount until the end of the year so send them to YEACamp.org for more info!

The post YEA Camp Hero Day 9: Leah CAREs About Animals! appeared first on YEA Camp.

Today’s camper is Jia Hui – a 17-year-old Bay Area powerhouse advocate for animals. Jia Hui was already very dedicated to animal rights when she applied for YEA Camp and wrote in her application that she would “like to learn how to be a good advocate,
especially when dealing with friends and new people.” She had started a club at her school that she wanted to take to new heights, saying she also wants “to make my school animal rights club bigger and better. I
want the group to be closer, more passionate, and admired.”

Since YEA Camp Jia Hui has done so much we can hardly keep track of her! She has gone out leafleting many times, participated in rallies about climate change and to advocate for dolphins and farmed animals, and has gotten involved locally with The Humane League. Jia Hui is also in the lead for most camper reunions! She has connected with many campers – even from other sessions who live in the area – to build a stronger local activist community.

Jia Hui has also applied some of what she learned at YEA Camp in her awesome Colts for Animals school club (Colts are the school mascot ), including the Community Bios (left) that she had each club member fill out, which she modeled after something we do at YEA Camp. The club is currently working on spreading awareness of animal issues and the benefits of vegetarian eating while trying to expand access to veg foods in the cafeteria.

See Jia Hui’s beautiful description of her YEA Camp experience here!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUUWt1f5sx0&w=560&h=315]

Jia Hui says “If not for YEA Camp, I wouldn’t be as confident in speaking my mind, and introducing myself to new people. I wouldn’t have the confidence to speak up about adding vegan food to our cafeteria. I would not have many fellow teen activist friends to talk to about anything!”

Your donation to YEA Camp helps passionate young people like Jia Hui to strengthen their community, resources, and confidence to go out and make a difference. YEA Camp can’t exist without donor support, and we appreciate yours! Tune in tomorrow for Day 8 of 12 Days of YEA Camp Heroes!

Missed previous days of YEA Camp Heroes? We don’t blame you for wanting to catch up! Here’s Day 1 about Megan in Massachusetts raising money for the homeless, Day 2 showcasing Joyce in New Jersey speaking about about bullying, Day 3 highlighting Maddie in Colorado advocating for animals, Day 4 about Lia from Washington state working to address the stigma of mental illness and reducing teen suicide, Day 5 about Roberto from North Carolina speaking more confidently about progressive causes, and Day 6 about Ana from California advocating for women, workers, animals, and more!

Does YEA Camp sound perfect for a 12-17 year-old you know (perhaps YOU)? Join us or send them our way this summer for the best week of their life!

The post YEA Camp Hero Day 7: Jia Hui Advocating for Animals! appeared first on YEA Camp.

Today’s YEA Camp Hero is Ana. There’s not really much to say about Ana except that she is COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY AMAZING. Ana just gets it. She has a great heart, works her butt off, has your back, and is someone you’ll be reading about in the paper soon enough. Oh, I forgot, she’s already been on the news multiple times. In just the past few months since camp, Ana has spoken up for women, Walmart workers, and many different species to advocate for protections, and she interned on the successful re-election campaign of Congressman Scott Peters. Here’s the selfie Joe Biden took with her on her phone. We bet he was psyched.

Did we mention that Ana is 14?

We’ll let Ana speak for herself about her activism and YEA Camp experience.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkhcQOMpCY0&w=560&h=315]

We love what Ana said, that YEA Camp “gave me a community that I’ve never had the privilege of being a part of, and that was a group of teenage activists. That ability to spend so much time with so many like-minded people definitely gave me the confidence to go out and advocate for change in my own world.”

We have so many problems in our world and yet offer so little support to equip people who want to make a difference. Your donations to YEA Camp enable young people like Ana to become even more effective change makers. You can donate here.

We appreciate your continued support. Tune in tomorrow for Day 7 of 12 Days of YEA Camp Heroes!

Missed previous days? Here’s Day 1 about Megan in Massachusetts raising money for the homeless, Day 2 showcasing Joyce in New Jersey speaking about about bullying, Day 3 highlighting Maddie in Colorado advocating for animals, Day 4 about Lia from Washington state working to address the stigma of mental illness and reducing teen suicide, and yesterday’s post about Roberto from North Carolina speaking more confidently about progressive causes.

If you are or know a teen advocate who would love YEA Camp, send them our way or join us this summer!

The post YEA Camp Hero Day 6: Ana – Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Advocating for Change appeared first on YEA Camp.

If you have been inspired by the 12 Days of YEA Camp Heroes campaign thus far, we hope you will donate here to help more youth activists make an even bigger difference on a cause they care about.

Today’s YEA Camp Hero is Roberto, a passionate 17-year-old advocate from Raleigh, North Carolina, where he and his family are active with the fantastic Moral Mondays movement there. Roberto came all the way to our YEA Camp session in Massachusetts this summer “to learn how to strengthen my beliefs and convey them effectively to other people.” He wrote in his application that almost everyone at his school is “right-wing Republicans. So I need to get stronger to better express my beliefs and find a support group.”

At YEA Camp, Roberto met many like-minded campers and staff whom he taught about Moral Mondays and voters’ rights issues – what we at YEA Camp call his “Issue of Importance (IOI)”. We were all so impressed and inspired by his knowledge and commitment, and the importance of this cause.

Since YEA Camp, Roberto has been speaking up confidently about political issues both at school and online in a way he says he wouldn’t be if not for YEA Camp. Whether it’s voter ID laws, raising the minimum wage,gay marriage, women’s rights, police brutality, poverty, animal cruelty, or another important (but sadly controversial) issue in his area, Roberto is advocating about it. This takes courage, as people often give him a hard time about it.

When we asked him what would be different if not for YEA Camp, he said “I would not [have] the confidence to go around school with my head held high and talk to staff about my IOI. I would not know how to be effective with debating with people at my school. I also would not ever try to talk to my principal to get anything I wanted, but now I can. After YEA Camp it made me refocus on what I am fighting for.”

This breaks our hearts but also reassures us when Roberto told us “If not for YEA Camp, I would not have the confidence to keep moving on even with the racist bigots at my school because of the great network of people I met.”

We are so proud of all Roberto is doing and glad to have played a role in his growth as an activist! (And we think he looks great in his YEA Camp t-shirt!

YEA Camp helps our campers get active, stay active, and take what they are already doing to the next level. We rely on your donations to support youth like Roberto to promote open-mindedness, compassion, respectful discourse, and civic engagement to their peers. You can donate here to help us grow our own work to the next level. We appreciate your continued support.

Missed previous days? Here’s Day 1 about Megan in Massachusetts raising money for the homeless, Day 2 showcasing Joyce in New Jersey speaking about about bullying, Day 3 highlighting Maddie in Colorado advocating for animals, and Day 4 about Lia from Washington state working to address the stigma of mental illness and reducing teen suicide.

Tune in tomorrow for Day 6 of 12 Days of YEA Camp Heroes!

And if you know (or are!) a change-making teen like Roberto, join us at YEA Camp this summer!

The post YEA Camp Hero Day 5: Roberto – Having the Courage to Speak Up appeared first on YEA Camp.

Who are the bee’s knees/the cat’s pajamas? YEA campers! Thus, we bring you 12 Days of YEA Camp Heroes as part of our end-of-year fundraising camp-aign, If Not for YEA Camp… Your donation to YEA Camp helps passionate young people to develop the skills, confidence and community they need to make a difference on a cause that they care about. You can support the campaign here.

Today’s YEA Camp Hero is Lia from Washington state (top right), who was so committed to coming to YEA Camp that she flew all the way out to attend our Massachusetts camp this summer because the dates didn’t work for her to be at the closer-by California or Oregon sessions.

Every YEA Camper chooses an issue that is important to them that they want to focus on after camp, and some of those issues hit very close to home. Lia lost someone very close to her to suicide when she was young, and she wrote in her application that “I’ve realized that many people aren’t as informed about mental illness/suicide as they can be. I want to make it a mission for suicide to be something that is understood and preventable rather than something that people joke or don’t speak about…. I definitely want to be able to figure out how to do something about the issues I’ve outlined above. Coming out with a specific plan to do that is critical in having anything be done about it….A lot have people have told me that I’m an emotionally strong person. I want to figure out how to use that strength to impact the world in a positive way.”

We were so touched and inspired by her commitment to help others through something that had affected her so deeply, and were thrilled to be able to help Lia put her dedication to this issue into action to make a difference.

At camp, Lia decided that she wanted to start a club at her school to address the stigma of mental illness. She thought about the best way to frame the issue to get students involved, and, with some input form YEA Camp staff,  Lia launched a Psychology club that has already accomplished so much in such a short time.

“I found a girl at my school interested in co-running it with me, met with some teachers who said they’d love to help me out, and started the club. 82 people ended up signing up!” The club held an assembly in which they showed this short video about teen suicide that Lia made with one of her club members.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HraBWtX_CFM&w=560&h=315]

Lia’s club also held an inspiring week-long campaign at school to benefit the amazing organization To Write Love on Her Arms, which works to “present hope and find help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide.” The club launched the “Fears Vs Dreams” program, where they had students fill out papers of their “fears vs. dreams” to, in Lia’s words, “help convey overcoming your fears to pursue your dreams as well as why no one else can play their part. It helped show people there’s hope and made them think about why they’re special.

And this is only some of what she has done! We are so proud of all Lia has accomplished to raise awareness about this important issue — and this is just in the first few months of school!

When we asked if YEA Camp helped her in this activism, Lia said, “If not for YEA Camp, I wouldn’t have been inspired to start a club fighting against the stigma of mental illness.”

We are honored to have played a role in helping Lia take her efforts to new heights!

If you are as inspired as we are, we hope you’ll contribute to our efforts to expand YEA Camp. Your donation helps us to offer generous scholarships for campers who cannot afford to attend, and helps us reach more young people to advocate for issues they care about, even if they are stigmatized. Each YEA Camper chooses an issue that they are passionate about to make a difference on, and our program helps move them further along from wherever they started to make an even bigger impact.

You can donate here to support our campaign. We so appreciate your support.

Tune in Monday for day 5 of 12 Days of YEA Camp Heroes!

Missed previous days? Here’s Day 1 about Megan in Massachusetts raising money for the homeless, Day 2 showcasing Joyce in New Jersey speaking about about bullying, and Day 3 highlighting Maddie in Colorado advocating for animals.

Know a 12-17 year old who wants to take their passion to the next level? Tell them about YEA Camp and maybe we’ll meet them this summer!

The post YEA Camp Hero Day 4: Lia – Changing the Stigma of Mental Illness appeared first on YEA Camp.