We held the second session of YEA Camp for Adults at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in New Paltz, New York.

Here are some of the highlights from YEA Camp 2019.

Our 11th Summer

This was our 11th summer hosting YEA Camp for teens ages 12 – 17 and we are so grateful for the opportunity to work with these inspiring young people. 

Our first youth camp was held at Nature’s Classroom in Charlton, Massachusetts from July 13 – 20. Our second youth camp was held at Camp Buckhorn in Idyllwild, California from August 3 – 10. 

We had around fifty campers at each youth session representing two dozen states and three countries. 

From June 30 – July 6, 22 campers from 12 states stayed with us at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in New Paltz, New York for the second ever session of YEA Camp for Adults. From yoga in the morning to meeting with farmed animals after lunch, from workshops on gender and race to trainings on communication and fundraising, our campers had the perfect mix of self-care and reflection while also learning valuable skills to help advance their activism.

We love our YEA Camp Massachusetts staff!

Between the three sessions of camp, we were so blessed to have 35 amazing staff members from 16 different states.

Our Impact

Juan Antonio Nelson is an Iowa college student who flew all the way to New York to attend adult camp. When asked about the experience, he said, “Without YEA Camp, I wouldn’t feel that I could make a difference in my immediate community. I wouldn’t have the courage to stand up for others. If not for YEA Camp, I wouldn’t have met a strong community of activists who are passionately advocating for what they believe in.”

A few months ago, former YEA Camper and current YEA staff member Ananya Singh was featured on the Perennials Podcast. In the podcast, Ananya says, “When I was 12 years old, the summer before eighth grade, I attended this summer camp called Youth Empowered Action and this is a camp for teen activists and it really was a life changing experience for me. It exposes you to so many different social issues that are going on in the world and kind of takes the approach of intersectionality and showing how all of these issues are so interconnected and then really breaking down what is possible for young people to do.”

YEA Camp staff member Ananya Singh in action at the Morristown, New Jersey Climate Strike

We also recently shared the story of former YEA Camper Leah Kelly who FIVE years after attending camp, wrote this blog post where she says, “Five and a half years ago, as a 15-year-old, I attended Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp for the first time and my life was changed immeasurably. I can’t imagine how different my life would have been from then on had I not spent that pivotal week learning what it means to be an effective agent of change and forming lasting connections that supported, and continue to support me as I navigate a chosen path of social justice and fighting for what I believe in.”

Our Brand New Program

This year, we also launched the first-ever YEA Camp Volunteer-a-thon. The Volunteer-a-thon was created to encourage our community in service and activism while raising money for the YEA Camp Scholarship Fund. 

Dima Bischoff-Hashem created an awesome Volunteer-a-thon project supporting her Issue of Importance, animal rights!

Participants created donor pages, shared what activism they would be working on, and asked their loved ones to “sponsor” them in their work. You can read more about three of our camper’s projects at this link and click here to read what one camper wrote about the experience. 

All funds raised through the Volunteer-a-thon go towards the YEA Camp Scholarship Fund which makes camp accessible for all who want to attend. 

This year, 51 of our 100 participants received financial aid and 17 of those campers were on full scholarships. Overall, we funded $66,400 of financial aid this year.  

Our Gratitude

We cannot say thank you enough to everyone who made camp possible. From our food donors to our staff to our donors, thank you. 

Helping ourselves to vegan pizza with Miyoko’s Cheese and more toppings than we can count!

Thanks to two generous donors, we also have a special opportunity through the end of the year. All donations given before the end of the year will be TRIPLED. Click here to learn more and to donate to our Scholarship Fund. 

Every year at YEA Camp, we have the privilege of meeting passionate and activated changemakers who are taking the world by storm. We feel so grateful to be a part of their story and look forward to supporting you in making a bigger difference on the causes you care most about, too!

See You Next Summer

Do you want to experience YEA Camp for yourself next summer, or know someone who would love to join us? 

We are eagerly preparing for 2020 and are excited to offer an Early Bird special registration for $250 off those who sign up before the end of the year. Do you know someone who would be great for YEA Camp? Nominate them here!

• Youth Camp: in Ventura, California (July 5 – 12) and Charlton, Massachusetts (August 1 – 8)
• Adult Camp: in Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey (July 18 – 24)

See you next summer!

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Pizza with Miyoko’s Cheese and “more toppings than we could count!”

One way we practice every day activism is by our food choices at camp.

For some of our campers and our staff, the allure of an all vegan camp is how they heard about us in the first place. For others, our vegan food is just another blurb on the FAQ page. YEA Camp is all about social justice and, at the end of the day, everyone at camp wants to build a more peaceful and sustainable world. That is why YEA Camp is vegan with a heavy focus on fair-trade, organic, and local options. 

The food we choose at the grocery store or out for dinner with friends is one of the simplest acts of every day activism we can do. Because of that, we hire a skilled team of vegan chefs to cook us amazing food that everyone can appreciate. 

This summer, we had some incredible companies donate their plant-based products to help us more affordably showcase the very best in vegan eating. 

Thank you to…

Amy’s Kitchen is a family-owned food company that was organic before “organic” was a national certification. Pioneers of the organic food industry (and maker of endless delicious vegan options), Amy’s has been with YEA Camp since year one and we are so grateful for their support!

Another family-owned business, Butler Foods donated their famous Butler Soy Curls, an all natural alternative to meat. Our chefs traded the traditional Chicken Noodle Soup for “Soy Curl Noodle Soup” for an extra dash of heart-healthy perfection. 

Sometimes we even let campers into the kitchen for baking demos!

Chicago Vegan Foods is a 100% vegan company (did the name give it away?) From their frozen dessert line to their gooey non-dairy cheese to their vegan marshmallows, Chicago Vegan Foods has something for everyone. Thank you Chicago Vegan Foods!

YEA Camp Trivia: Do you know what vegan company Camp Founder & Director Nora Kramer named her rescue dog after? Daiya the dog approves of Daiya Foods and all the “deliciously dairy-free foods” they bring to our camp. You can even find vegan frozen pizzas from Daiya in grocery stores around the country. Yum!

Started in 1970 when four friends “opened a seven-seat soup, salad, and sandwich counter in the back of small natural food store in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California,” Follow Your Heart now offers over 60 dairy-free products in over 25 countries. We are so grateful for their support and their reminder to, “when in doubt, Follow Your Heart.” 

We couldn’t get in line fast enough for this Miyoko’s inspired vegan pizza!

Miyoko’s Kitchen provided us with many a mid-day snack. Their cheese wheels were a hit at every session of camp and we especially love this quote, pulled from their website: “Compassion for animals is at the heart of everything we do. It always has been. It always will be.”

Like Amy’s Kitchen, Tofurky has been a generous support of YEA Camp for eleven years. We even wrote a feature post about them here! Tofurky has been providing us with plant-based protein since our very first session. Truthfully, it wouldn’t feel like camp without them!

We are so lucky to have their support!

YEA Camp would not be nearly as delicious were it not for the support of these awesome companies who are revolutionizing what it means to eat vegan. Campers often tell us that YEA Camp is what propelled them to eat a plant-based diet! What an honor to help our campers become more conscious about their food choices. We are so grateful to have the support of these compassionate companies. Their dedication to making the world a kinder and more ethical place inspires us all.

The time to announce dates for YEA Camp 2020 is coming soon. Be sure to sign up for e-news to make sure you’re the first to know!

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There is a reason why we care. There is an event or a person that has enlightened us, who has taught us to care. I sat down at YEA Camp trying to remember, and I knew right away.

My brother was the kindest person I ever knew. His smile lit up the room and his laugh was contagious. He was also the strongest. Constant hospitalizations and medical procedures seemed to not phase him as he fought hard but still managed to radiate positivity. So when he passed away at the young age of 3, something changed within me. He taught me compassion, strength, and courage better than anyone else could have, and I just knew it was my job to help others.

Why do you care? Why do you fight for justice?

I ask this, because after all the rejection, the failure, the disappointment, and the times when you fall, the answer is why you pick yourself back up. It is why every day you walk back out into this unjust world and continue to fight.

Find this reason and hold onto it.

That is one of the many epiphanies that I had during my week at YEA Camp. I learned countless new ideas and lessons. Issues that had never crossed my mind were brought to my attention. I made lifelong friends who are more like family. Last but not least, I made a plan.

Elyanna speaking into a bullhorn for the first time at a protest!

I will be starting an animal rights club at my school. My goal is to do vegan outreach with students and ultimately educate the public about the harms of animal agriculture, and cruelty of consuming, using, or wearing animals. This will include documentary screenings with free vegan food, giving out free vegan food in exchange for watching a short video, implementing more vegan food in the cafeteria, ending dissection, and did I mention free vegan food?!

I have many details to work out, but I know where to start and who to talk to thanks to what I learned. I’m not scared to fail because I will continue improving. My longer-term goal is to create a “Vegan Teens” group in my city.

I will also be taking advantage of any conversation I can have about this issue, writing letters to companies about what they need to change, leafleting, doing street activism, and using my social media to spread awareness.

When I got home from camp, everyone asked me, “How was it?”

My answer every time was: “Amazing.” I found it hard to sum up an extremely educational, incredibly fun, insanely inspirational, and life-changing week into one brief conversation. There was just something about it. YEA Camp is something you must experience yourself.

Maybe it’s the seclusion in the woods or the amazing food, or the sense of community. I’m a passionate person but before I attended YEA Camp I didn’t know how to utilize my passion, where to focus my energy, and I did not believe in myself.

I left YEA camp saying “ I’m going to change the world” and I knew I had all my new friends beside me saying the same thing. Because it’s true. If it’s anyone, it’s going to be us. We are going out into the world and voicing our concerns and our solutions, and people are listening. We are rising up to the occasion. Watch out injustice! We are coming for you.

Elyanna Calle is 16 years old and came all the way from San Antonio, Texas, to attend YEA Camp in Massachusetts.

To find out more YEA Camp, go to YEACamp.org.

The post Finding the Motivation for My Activism at YEA Camp appeared first on YEA Camp.

I came to YEA Camp because I wanted to find a community of people who were as ambitious and open-minded as me and to learn how to become a more effective activist. It was so inspiring to be surrounded by such a forward-thinking and open-minded group of young people aspiring to make a difference in the world just like I am.

I already thought that I was making an impact, which I was by being vegan, signing tons of online petitions, and writing to companies, but YEA Camp reminded me that there is always more that I can do. Everyday at YEA Camp we got to participate in motivational workshops that gave me great ideas. I cannot thank the incredible staff enough for molding me into a more effective activist through their influential workshops.

I feel that I now have the knowledge, confidence, inspiration, and group of friends that I need to make a difference. First, I am focusing on how I can improve my school. I have started taking action by working on getting the cruel practice of dissecting animals banned in my school and replacing it with an online virtual-alternative. To accomplish this, I have researched this issue and reached out to the head of the science department at my school urging him to ban the dissection of animals in my school. He has pledged to talk to the other science teachers about it. Thanks to YEA Camp, I have the courage and knowledge to have a face to face meeting with him and not. If he says no, I will then talk to my principal.

I also plan to advocate for Meatless Mondays at my school and hope to make them year round. Giving up meat one day a week is not only good for your health, but is also very good for the planet and for animals. Additionally, I aim to advocate for humane education in my school sometime during the school year. For those who don’t know, humane education is the use of education to nurture compassion and respect for all living beings. Humane education can play a key role in making our society more compassionate and caring, to take responsibility for ourselves, each other, our fellow animals, and the earth. I may not be able to get a class that is mainly about compassion and respect for living beings, but I will try to convince my school to host a public speaker who will talk about this.

I also really want to be more open about my activism with my peers at school. Last school year I was careful not to stand out too much when it comes to my activism. I didn’t want people to have a poor perception of me due to my activism. Before YEA Camp, I did not have the confidence and support that I needed to see such issues and take action on them in these ways. I will forever be grateful to the amazing staff and campers at YEA Camp for giving me the confidence and support that I needed. Thanks to YEA Camp, I see that being open about my activism can enable me to have a bigger impact.

I really hope that even more people can come to YEA Camp next year, because we desperately need more young people to have the knowledge, confidence, inspiration, and group of friends that they need to make a difference in order to change the world.

Noam Cohen-Weinberg went vegan about 2 years ago due to his passion for animal rights and wants to do as much as he can to help animals. He is 12 years old and was born and raised in Westchester County, New York. Noam Attended the 2018 session of YEA Camp in Massachusetts. It was his first time attending YEA Camp and he plans on coming back next summer.

If you want to take your activism to the next level, find out more about YEA Camp here — now with a camp for adults too!

The post A Twelve-Year Old Explains How YEA Camp Changed His Life appeared first on YEA Camp.

This summer, I had the opportunity to attend Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp, also known as YEA Camp. I just want to start off by saying that this was a life-changing experience. Never in my life have I ever felt more free and accepted than when I was at YEA Camp. As someone who comes from a place where it seems that there are very few people, especially young people who care about big issues, it’s easy to feel like all hope is lost. YEA Camp has restored my hope.

I am a firm believer that your mood can be heavily swayed based on the people you associate yourself with. During my time at YEA Camp, I felt nothing but positivity. Everyone around me was eager to learn about the issues going on in the world and wanted to work towards fixing it.

Over the week, I got to really know my 65 new friends. I learned about their lives, where they came from, and what issues were important to them. I became inspired by them and it made me want to do more. However, I think the most powerful thing these 65 people did was restore my confidence in my activism. There’s something about knowing that a large number of people support me and my ideas that comforts me. It makes me feel like i’m not alone in this fight, and that if we all band together we can make a difference.

Change doesn’t happen with just one person. It takes a number of people. The never-ending love and support from the people I met at YEA Camp has impacted me the most because in unity there is strength.

Mia Drumm is a 16-year-old student and activist from Louisiana. Her passion is animal rights. She currently does animal rescue with her mother and is working on running a vegan lifestyle blog.

If you’d like to meet other like-minded changemakers, find out more about YEA Camp at YEACamp.org.

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