For those who know anything about YEA Camp, a summer camp for social change, it should be no surprise that when our campers’ votes were tallied at the end, our current president didn’t just lose the popular vote. It was unanimous. He received zero votes.

YEA Camp is for 12-17 year-olds who care about social justice issues like racism, poverty, gay rights, women’s equality, the environment, animal rights, and more. They expressed significant concerns about the prospect of a Trump presidency’s effect on all of these causes.

Fast forward to the day after Inauguration Day, and we were proud to see dozens of YEA Campers attend Women’s Marches across the country.

Take a look at just some of the YEA Campers who participated.

Former YEA Camper and now YEA staffer Shelby at the LA march.

Check out Shelby’s blog post”When They Go Low… We Get Involved!”, about her experience at the march!

YEA Campers Perry and Samantha met up at the Santa Cruz march.

YEA Camper Kailey (right) and friend at the Dallas march

YEA Camper Jake sporting his YEA Camp t-shirt at the St. Louis march.

Paula attending her first march, at the Women’s March in San Jose, CA.

Check out Paula’s blog post, “How My First March Restored My Faith in Gender Equality,” about her experience attending the march!

YEA Camper Grace attended the rainy march in Portland, Oregon.

YEA Camper Amanda with her signs for the Cleveland march. #intersectionalfeminism

Drake’s little brother Dax (future YEACamper!) with the sign he made for the Charlotte march!

YEA Camper Drake with environmental activist racecar driver Leilani Munter at the Charlotte march.

Former YEA Camp Assistant Director Laura (a science teacher) with her kids — future YEA Campers! — at the Portland march.

YEA Camper Elisha in the middle (you can’t read it, but we recognize that she’s wearing her YEA Camp “This is what an activist looks like” t-shirt!) on the way to the Seattle march.

Former YEA Camper Jacob (all grown up with a beard!) at the Women’s March in DC

This is just a sampling of some of the YEA Campers who attended Women’s Marches across the country (and took and shared selfies with us!), and this is just a drop in the activist ocean of young people getting activated for change!

If you know a 12-17-year-old who attended the march or cares deeply about some of the important social issues of our time, YEA Camp is the place for them to be this summer! Nominate a camper here, or just send them to our website to learn more!

Thanks to YEA Campers for inspiring our hope for the future!

The post YEA Campers Show Up In Force for Women’s March All Over the Country appeared first on YEA Camp.

All over the country, YEA Campers are doing amazing things. Debunking the stereotype of the apathetic teenager, these young leaders are informed, committed, and taking action to making our world a better place.

When 16-year-old Katy Foley, who attended our Oregon camp this past summer, let us know that she and her Youth Ending Slavery (YES) chapter led a huge crowd of people for a Walk to End Slavery, we asked her to tell us about it, and we’re thrilled to share her story here below. Way to go, Katy!

By Katy Foley

Stereotypically, Portland, Oregon, is known for hipsters, bikers, coffee, and all-around weirdness. However, on one Saturday afternoon, my club members and I took to the city streets, adding another word to this list: activism. With strength in numbers, I helped lead a vocal group, 100 strong, to march in a walk to end modern-day slavery.  The event was convened by Youth Ending Slavery (YES), a student-led organization that I am so honored to work with.

Many people don’t realize that slavery still exists and is a far too prevalent injustice in our world today. This is an atrocity not to be misconstrued as solely an issue of the past or a crime of developing countries. 

There are different forms of slavery today, from workers in the coffee, chocolate, or diamond industries, to young people who are trafficked in the sex trade — something that has become a shocking problem in my area.

Oregon is a state deeply plagued with this injustice. Specifically, Portland is often cited as a city with one of the highest rates of juvenile sex trafficking in the country. This opportunistic crime in the Portland metropolitan area is due to a confluence of issues— this includes Portland’s growing juvenile homeless population, two major highway routes, an international airport, and a high concentration of strip clubs (which is not to say that all strip clubs practice this form of illegal exploitation, but some have been linked to trafficking fronts).

From improving legal and legislative approaches in the decriminalization of trafficking victims (those who have been criminalized and erroneously identified as prostitutes) to a more aggressive strategy that includes prosecuting traffickers, Oregonians have taken action against this injustice in recent years. Citizens, students, and law enforcement are also working to raise awareness and education among both youth and adults by starting organizations like Youth Ending Slavery. I was inspired by efforts like these against a crime that exploits far too many, which inspired me to join YES and to become its outreach director.

YES is an entirely youth-led nonprofit organization whose mission is to combat modern-day slavery by raising awareness, and, just like YEA Camp, aims to empower and motivate youth to be advocates for change. YES does this through educational speaking engagements, facilitating YES chapters at local high schools, hosting fundraising events for partnered anti-trafficking organizations, and organizing awareness campaigns, such as the Walk to End Slavery.

Championing  the streets, YES and all who walked beside us drew attention of those coffee- drinking, long-bearded Portlanders, voicing their intolerance for the injustice in the words, “Slavery ends with you and me / youth ending slavery!” and demanding “People over profit!”

The walk showcased the importance of awareness, empathy and community in the fight for social change. YES urged its supporters to acknowledge that activism can be a one-person effort, but the contribution of the masses affects greater change– and who better to make this change than young people?

When I had the chance to speak in front of the crowd, I said, “We believe that educating youth about the existence of slavery is crucial because the rising generation has the opportunity and responsibility to create a world in which unjust practices in the name of profit are not tolerated.”

To get involved with YES or learn more about its work,  visit YouthEndingSlavery.org.

Go Katy! 

If you are or someone you know is a teen who is passionate about social justice like Katy is, join us at YEA Camp this summer! You’ll get to be part of an amazing community filled with inspiring people like Katy, find your voice on an issue that’s important to you, and  take your change-making to the next level. And don’t wait. Our early bird discount ends February 1. Find out more or register for YEA Camp here. 

And follow this blog to read more inspiring stories like this from teens doing amazing things to make our world a better place.

The post Inspired Teens Lead Walk to End Slavery appeared first on YEA Camp.