The school walkout, national March For Our Lives, and the daily actions young people are taking to bring about change on this and other social justice issues has drawn much-deserved attention from around the world.

While this has been a huge inspiration for us as well, it isn’t a surprise, as we see campers around the country doing activism every day. Most of it just doesn’t make the news.

Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp is a summer camp for social change. A week-long overnight leadership camp, YEA Camp has trained over 600 teens and tweens from a dozen countries to make a difference on a cause they care about. (This year, we’re also launching a new session of YEA Camp for Adults!)

With all the busyness of school, testing, extracurriculars, and after-school jobs or chores, the summer is the best time of the year for teens to focus on their passions and get training, support, mentorship, and friendships to help them on their change-making path.

While YEA Camp doesn’t endorse any candidates, after this mock election the campers put on in the summer of 2016, 0 of them voted for Trump.

Even though YEA Camp has been going strong for almost 10 years now, it may as well have been designed for the countless young people across the country who are starting to get involved in activism.

Youth today are concerned about causes like racism, poverty, women’s rights, LGBTQ equality, immigrant rights, the environment, animal rights, and more – and Trump’s election and daily assault on these issues, as well as the Parkland mass shooting and focus on gun control, have sparked young people to get active on a whole new level.

Here are 10 ways YEA Camp can help the change-making teen (or adult!) in your life cope with and make a difference in the age of Trump.

1. Meet like-minded friends and inspiring staff role models. Some YEA Campers report being the only person they know who cares as much as they do about their cause. Some even experience bullying because they have taken a stand for what they care about. Being surrounded by peers and mentors who also care deeply helps us feel that we are not alone, that we have people we can rely on for help, and that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

2. Build resilience and learn how to deal with the sadness and anger we feel about the injustices of the world. Through powerful activities designed to safely experience and share our emotions about the world, YEA Campers find healthy ways to express and process emotions, practice self-care, develop healthy coping methods, and strengthen their relationships and support system. Changing the world will take a while, and we can’t give up.

3. Learn about the history of social movements and how we each fit in and can do our part. It may seem like today’s problems are worse than they ever were, or like we are up against the impossible, but learning about activists who came before us who literally helped end slavery, gave so many of us the right to vote, led to environmental protections, and so much more helps us see that change takes time but that we can and must win.

4. Deepen understanding of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression. Through interactive workshops and activities, YEA Campers examine various forms of privilege, how injustice is institutionalized, and how it can be disrupted. We can all find ways to leverage our privileges and be allies across movements.

5. Learn specific things we can do in our everyday lives to bring about change. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming to figure out how to get involved, or to know if one person can make a difference, especially at a young age. Thankfully, from improving your school’s recycling or cafeteria food, fundraising for your favorite cause, making or sharing Youtube videos, speaking up when you hear someone being bullied, and so much more, the things young people can do to make a difference are endless. Check out these great organizations and get connected with (at least!) one working on a cause you care about.

6. Get involved with politics, even if you’re too young to vote. Voting is important, yes, but it makes far less of a difference than influencing other voters or our leaders directly. Think about it — if you vote, that’s one vote for your candidates, but if you get other people to vote, you can get many more votes for them! And we don’t need the right to vote to register voters, make phone calls, or share information. Check out our YEA Camp Guide for Kids Too Young to Vote to get started. (It’s actually all relavent to adults too!)

7. Build skills to make a difference at your school, like starting a club, grassroots outreach, or planning a campaign. How about improving the food in your school cafeteria, getting better recycling at school, or starting a school fundraiser for a local shelter? Maybe you want to launching an anti-bullying initiative or start a school-wise discussion about racism or LGBTQ equality in your school or community? At YEA Camp, you’ll learn how to do these things, and more.

8. Improve your communication skills, especially when speaking with people in positions of authority and people who disagree with you. (Or both at the same time!) We do a lot of this at YEA Camp. What you have to say is important — and we don’t want any limiting beliefs or anxiety about speaking up hold you back from getting your message out as widely as possible.

9. Strengthen your self-confidence and find your voice. Through powerful activities to overcome limiting beliefs, as well as developing your skills, expanding your knowledge, and being surrounded with an incredibly supportive community of people who will be cheering you on like you have never experienced before, you will leave YEA Camp fired up and ready to go make a difference.

10. Have fun! These are tough times for many of us, and we need to take care of ourselves and enjoy our lives! While YEA Camp is focused on making a difference, it is so fun! From silly games and a dance party to a talent show and free time to just hang out with new friends, YEA Campers often describe their experience as the best week of their life!

If you or someone you know is a 12-17 year-old who wants to change the world, check out the dates, locations on both coasts, and details on YEACamp.org and get registered to join us for a life-changing experience at YEA Camp this summer.

Think you’re too old for camp? You’re not! We now have a YEA Camp for Adults!

With all that’s wrong in the world, we look forward to another summer helping as many people as possible make the biggest difference they can.

The post This Summer Camp Helps Aspiring Activists Make a Bigger Difference appeared first on YEA Camp.

YEA Campers around the country are doing inspiring things to make a difference on so many causes. We’re thrilled that as part of this new Activist Spotlight series, we are getting to learn more about what they’re up to and share their activist stories with you in their own inspiring words.

Seventeen-year-old Jace Frazel was a camper at our Massachusetts camp this past summer and has been doing tons of activism! We’re excited to share more about what Jace is up to.

YEA Camp: Tell us about the activism you’ve been doing.

Jace: I have worked with my school’s Gay Straight Alliance to install gender neutral bathrooms. Making this happen, and working with the administration, has taken time. In addition, I am currently working on getting Meatless Mondays in my school. I’m working with the environmental club at my school, but it’s a slow process. We are slowly going to introduce some meatless dishes and hopefully get some vegan options. We are also trying to get some compostable dishes instead of styrofoam in the cafeteria. The environmental club at my school got composting implemented at our school this year. We already had recycling and last year we actually got composting in all the teachers’ rooms, but this year we put composting in the cafeteria for students to use too.

YEA Camp: Wow! That is amazing!  How did you get involved with activism and what you’re currently working on?

Jace: I’ve always wanted to make a difference, but I first got involved with activism when I started looking at the news and began surfing through social media, like Instagram. I realized there were so many problems in this world that I wasn’t even aware of, so I started making YouTube videos and posting on social media about various social issues. I especially felt connected towards LGBTQ+ and mental health issues, as those are close to me. I started giving advice to people struggling with their sexuality and gender identity as well as advocating for mental health issues by speaking out about it.

YEA Camp: What challenges have you faced as an activist and how have you dealt with them?

Jace: Right now, in working on getting compostable dishes in my cafeteria instead of styrofoam, we are struggling with the cost differences to get this change implemented. Styrofoam is really, really cheap compared to anything else. It’s literally pennies for each once. A few more pennies for a more environmentally friendly tray doesn’t seem like much, but it adds up. So it’s a ton of research into different types of trays we can get, how much that will cost, possibly getting a grant, and convincing administration.

YEA Camp: What advice do you have for new activists just getting involved?

Jace: For new activists wanting to get involved, the most important thing is finding something you’re really passionate about. It helps if you pick something close to your heart because you’re even more motivated. Then you just have to find ways to make a change. You can start by using skills you already have, whether that’s playing guitar to fundraise or giving a presentation to a group of people about what you’re passionate about.

YEA Camp: How did YEA Camp help you in your activism, if it did?

Jace: I always knew I wanted to make a change, but I didn’t know how to. I had a ton of ideas of things I could do, but I didn’t know where to start. YEA Camp helped by giving me the skills to make positive changes in the world and a community that is always willing to help give advice if I need help with my activism.

YEA Camp: What activist goals do you have in the future?

Jace: In the future, I want to make some sort of LGBTQ+ short film to help spread awareness of identities that are not as well known. I also want to come up with a mental health campaign video.

Jace is 17-year-old YEA Camp alumnus from the North Shore in Massachusetts and attended YEA Camp in 2017. Jace is an avid activist within the LGBTQIA+ community at his high school. Check out Jace’s youtube channel here.

Do you want to make a bigger difference in the world on important causes like equality and human rights, environmental sustainability, or another issue you care about? YEA Camp can help — and we now even have a camp for adults! Let us know if you have any questions!

The post YEA Camper Activist Spotlight: Jace of All Trades appeared first on YEA Camp.

YEA Camp is a summer leadership camp for teen activists.

Since 2009, Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp, a summer camp for social change, has been holding life-changing overnight camps for youth across the country. This summer, for the first time, YEA Camp will be holding a session in Southern California, in the beautiful Angeles National Forest.

Pressed by the current political climate, young people all across the country, and especially in California, are getting more and more engaged in social issues. They are walking out of school, marching in the streets, and making their voices heard on political issues. They are taking a stand against racism, homophobia, sexism, xenophobia, and in support of immigrants, equality, health care, the environment, and animal rights.

YEA Campers from all over the country attended Women’s Marches, the day after Inauguration Day.

Supporting activist-minded progressive teens is the whole reason for YEA Camp’s existence, and moving to a bigger location just outside Los Angeles will help YEA Camp serve even more young people.

At YEA Camp, young people ages 12-17 choose an issue they are most passionate about, what the camp calls their Issue of Importance (IOI), and throughout the week campers develop knowledge, skills, confidence, and community to help them make a bigger difference when they go home.

Campers have gone on to start school clubs to improve student self-esteem, rally and fundraise for organizations they support, go to Standing Rock, and so much more. In fact, YEA Camp recently successfully nominated 3 former campers for $1000 Pollination Project grants to help them expand on their food justice activism work, and all 3 were funded!

YEA Camp helps young people who know they want to make a difference figure out what to do, or to take what they are already doing to the next level. By the end of camp, everyone creates an action plan for what they intend to do when they go home. Check out many testimonials from past campers here. Here’s one we really love from 13-year-old rockstar YEA Camper Ananya.

YEA Camp’s California camp will be held August 6-13 in Wrightwood, CA, approximately an hour north of Pasadena.

In addition to the west coast session, for the sixth year in a row, YEA Camp will hold sessions on the east coast as well, with a camp in Massachusetts from July 9-16, and a camp in New York from July 23-30, a session especially for animal advocates.

“There is so much that each one of us can do to make a difference in the world,” said YEA Camp Founder and Director Nora Kramer. “It’s so inspiring to see our campers find their voice and get active on causes they believe in. We’re thrilled to be offering this session just outside Los Angeles and to be able to serve more campers than ever before.”

Space is still available for each session, though space is limited. To learn more about YEA Camp, visit www.yeacamp.org.

To learn more about YEA Camp, visit www.yeacamp.org.

The post Leadership Camp for Teen Activists Comes to Southern California appeared first on YEA Camp.