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 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.