As the decade comes to a close, I reflect on the experiences that got me where I am today, as an activist and as a person. 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.

Call to Activism

Leah Kelly started a successful animal advocacy club in high school after attending YEA Camp.

From the youngest age I can remember, I had always felt the need to stand against things I felt were unjust, but I didn’t really know how to put these feelings into words or actions. YEA Camp gave me the guidance, tools, and encouragement that led me to become a true activist by showing me what it means to turn empathy and passion into social change. It trained me in critical skills such as public speaking, effective communication, “elevator” pitches, leafleting, tabling, campaigning, organizing, and leadership. YEA Camp provided me with key resources such as social networking, data, insight and knowledge, club starter kits, support groups, and incredible and inspiring lifelong mentors and friends. 

It takes a look back to realize that that summer of 2014 kickstarted, in some ways both overtly and indirectly, the journey I’ve chosen to pursue long into the future. The fall after I attended YEA Camp for the first time, I founded the animal rights club that I led for the rest of my three years of high school, an experience that truly ignited my leadership abilities and the feeling of self-empowerment I needed to believe I could really make a difference. YEA Camp inspired me to become fully vegan, an element of my life today that is most important to me. After I attended another session the next summer, YEA Camp helped me create and spearhead a plan to get the entire public school system in my town to implement Meatless Mondays. It was a success! We convinced the entire school district to implement Meatless Mondays! 

YEA Camp in “the Real World”

Sometime during my time volunteering, supporting, and promoting nonprofit organizations in high school, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to continue doing this for the rest of my life. I want to dedicate myself to social justice activism. There are so many injustices in the world, but as YEA Camp taught me, every person can make a difference. I am particularly invested in fighting for animal rights, and meeting so many vegan activists at YEA Camp made me feel less alone and more hopeful about our collective ability to improve the treatment of non-human animals. 

After attending YEA Camp, Leah Kelly got her entire school district to implement Meatless Mondays!

Since graduating high school, I chose to attend a private liberal arts college that I believe embodies the spirit of social justice and welcomes students who sometimes feel on the outskirts of society, empowering them to thrive in a non-judgmental space. Pitzer College in Claremont, California has often felt like YEA Camp to me in its supportive community and composition of young people who are dedicated to caring about and working to end oppression of all forms. I can’t be sure I would have ended up at this college, or where I am in life at all, had YEA Camp not turned me in the direction I needed to go. 

Thank You, YEA Camp

Half a decade later, as the end of the 2010s approaches, I can only think back and feel grateful for everything that has gotten me to this place and point in time. I am so thankful for YEA Camp Director Nora Kramer’s dedicated vision to empowering youth to become the next benevolent, impassioned leaders of change. I can only imagine where I will be in another five years, but I do know one thing for sure: you will find me fighting for justice as hard as I ever have.

Leah Kelly is a current junior at Pitzer College in southern California, where she is majoring in sociology and international and intercultural studies with a minor in French. She just returned from a semester studying abroad in Paris. Leah is from Connecticut, where her mom, dad, younger sister, dog, and two cats reside. She is a passionate vegan animal rights activist and active member of her college’s animal rights club. Leah enjoys include being with animals, playing trumpet in concert band and jazz band, creative writing, making art, watching T.V., learning new things, exploring new places, and spending time with friends and family. She attended YEA Camp in 2014 and 2015, served on its Youth Advisory Board, and was the first camper editor for the YEA Camp blog.

We are so grateful we met Leah. If you know of any tween/teen, aged 12-17, who has a passion in activism, whether it be for animal rights, feminism, LGBTQ, racial justice, environmentalism, or any other topic, check out yeacamp.org to find out how to sign up for this week-long camp, held this summer in California and Massachusetts. Register by the end of the year to earn an early-bird discount of $250 or nominate someone who would be great for camp here!

The post Looking Back at YEA Camp 5 Years Later appeared first on YEA Camp.

Thanks to the support of two generous donors, all donations raised through the end of the year are being TRIPLED. This is so important to us for a few reasons. First, 51 of our 100 campers this summer were on some form of financial aid. Seventeen of those campers received full scholarships. Overall, we granted $66,400 worth of financial aid. 

We strive to make YEA Camp equitable for all who want to be there, regardless of socioeconomic status. If you want to change the world, we want to help you do it. Because of this, the YEA Camp Scholarship Fund is a critical part of our mission. Without it, so many of our campers would simply not be able to have this life-changing experience. 

Okay, so financial aid is important, but what is this Volunteer-a-Thon anyway?

Some organizations encourage their community to raise money through a 5k run or by selling magazines. We wanted to put a twist on the traditional asks by tapping into our activist networks. 

The Volunteer-a-Thon was created as a way for people to raise awareness about a cause that is important to them while also doing more service and activism. By publicly sharing what they are working on, our community is being held socially accountable to follow through with the changes they want to make and the activism they want to do. 

Last week, we shared a post by YEA Camper Mia Jay-Pachirat about her project of creating an environmental zine that talks about climate change and provides simple solutions for people living in New York City (where Mia lives)! You can read more about her project and experience at YEA Camp here or donate to her activism here.

So what exactly are people doing?

Dima

Dima Bischoff-Hashem is a 16-year-old high school student from New Jersey. At YEA Camp, she defined her Issue of Importance (IOI) as animal rights. After camp, she started attending animal rights marches and vigils and volunteering at a farmed animal sanctuary. 

Currently, Dima is starting an animal rights group in her hometown with the goal of supporting other farm sanctuaries and animal rights groups. 

Dima says, “YEA Camp taught me how to go about activism, how to talk to people about causes I care about, and how to create a doable, step-by-step plan of action.”

To learn more or support Dima, click here.

Audrey

Audrey Watson attended YEA Camp this past summer and is a passionate advocate for environmental justice. She is currently volunteering with her local chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a youth led organization dedicated to stopping the climate crisis while providing a just transition for everyone. 

Audrey is also working on co-founding a nonprofit organization with her friend called New Jersey Students for Sustainable Schools. 

She says, “This organization will work to help empower youth and guide them to use their voices in order to make their schools more sustainable and environmentally friendly.”

To learn more or support Audrey, click here.

Danielle

Danielle Holtz is a senior at the University of North Carolina, Asheville. She was a YEA Camper in 2015 and has since been a counselor-in-training, counselor, Operations Manager, blog editor, intern, and YEA Camp Youth Fundraising and Publicity team Founder. 

Danielle’s activism centers around food. She serves as her school’s Sustainable Food Procurement Analyst, creating sustainability criteria for institutional purchasing. Her work as a Campus Representative for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) means she puts on eight animal rights events per semester!!

She is also the President of Active Students for a Healthy Environment, where she works to reduce campus food waste, promotes animal rights, and offers leadership and guidance to the Sunrise Movement committee. 

Danielle says that, “Without YEA Camp, I have no idea where I would be. It truly was the most life-changing experience I have ever had, and I love being able to share that with 12-17 year olds from across the country (and world!) each year.”

To learn more or support Danielle, click here.

How you can be involved

It’s not too late to create a page. You can learn everything about creating your own activist project here. 

If you can’t create a page, we would still love your support. If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to YEA Camp. As a reminder, all donations are being TRIPLED thanks to the support of two generous donors. 

Please help support our programs by sharing this link with others. Your support makes camp accessible for activists around the world. 

Want to join us next summer?

We recently announced the dates for YEA Camp 2020 and are currently running an Early Bird special. Register by the end of the year to receive $250 off your registration. Do you know someone who would be great for 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)

The post Youth Activists Make a Difference Through Volunteer-a-Thon appeared first on YEA Camp.

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!

The post These Generous Companies Make YEA Camp’s Food Even More Delicious appeared first on YEA Camp.