By having friends and family sponsor them in this activism, participants are raising money for the YEA Camp Scholarship Fund. The scholarship fund is a core tenet of the mission of YEA Camp. It makes camp accessible for all who want to be there. In the past decade, we have trained over 1,000 activists. None of that would be possible without the support of our donors.

This summer alone, YEA Camp gave financial aid to 51 of the 100 participants to a total of $66,400 worth of aid!

Triple the Impact

This year’s Volunteer-a-Thon is an opportunity to pay that gift forward. By giving to YEA Camp, you give a young person the gift of camp. You allow us to activate them with the knowledge, skills, confidence, and community that they need to make a bigger difference in this world. By participating in or donating to the Volunteer-a-Thon, you become a champion for someone’s activism. 

Thanks to two generous donors, we are making your dollars walk a little farther this year. From now until the end of the year, all Volunteer-a-Thon donations will be TRIPLED. Where else can you invest $20 and see $60 raised to support young changer makers?

Sometimes, though, it’s hard to quantify what that looks like. That’s why we’ve invited two time YEA Camper and Volunteer-a-Thon participant, Mia Jay-Pachirat to share her story. 

What YEA Camp Means to Mia Jay-Pachirat

Hello! My name is Mia. I’m 17 and have gone to YEA Camp for two years now.  I love it. Last year, my Issue of Importance (IOI) was climate change, and my action plan was to create an art zine, all based around solutions to climate change based in New York City, where I live. (Note: A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images).

Through the Volunteer-a-thon, I have been working on this zine, and I’ve started to plan out the skeleton of it. I am hoping that next month I can start making it! I am thankful for YEA Camp for giving me this opportunity to pursue my passion because otherwise, I wouldn’t have the knowledge and the community to effectively pursue what I wanted to do.

YEA Camp has allowed so many kids to learn how to fight for the world we live on. This is so important because currently not a lot of adults in the government are fighting for what the youth is going to have to live with for many years to come. I think YEA Camp allows youth to make sure that they have the tools themselves to change the world and to right the wrongs that adults have made and continue to make.

I know, personally, that through YEA Camp I have become a much stronger and passionate activist than I ever was before. I’ve learned how to talk to people I don’t know about issues that concern me and how to do that in a positive, helpful way. Additionally, the friends you make at YEA Camp are the best friends you will ever make. YEA Camp friends care about issues that you care about, and they understand what it’s like to struggle with explaining yourself to others that don’t think the same way.

Mia’s Project

So on to my zine! My basic idea for my action plan was to start creating a zine, mass-produce it, and then hand it out on the streets of New York. That didn’t work out because of school and schedule conflicts with my going through the college process. But after talking to my art teacher and making up a plan with her, she’s allowing me to do my zine in art class during the school day. I’m going to start producing a magazine next week. I have everything planned out and I am super excited.

By donating and creating a page for the Volunteer-a-Thon you’re helping so many kids have the opportunity to come to the wonderful, wonderful YEA Camp. Please, if you can donate, share a page. or even create one that would mean the world! To learn more about my project, click here.

Support YEA Camp

To support Mia and the other members of the YEA Camp community, click here. You can read more about her project and others or even create your own page. 

If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to YEA Camp this year. Your dollar will go three times as far thanks to our generous matching donors.

Interested in joining us at camp next year? 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 YEA Campers Triple Impact through Volunteer-a-Thon appeared first on YEA Camp.

There was a collective gasp among the crowd of 500-some ninth and tenth graders as we sat, in our school auditorium, watching our friends perform the musical “Ragtime,” as fictional Fire Chief Willy Conklin referred to Coalhouse Walker, Jr., one of the play’s three main characters, as a slur none of us outside the auditorium would dare repeat: the n-word. I bit my lip harder than I ever had in my life.

Let me rewind: when our school chose “Ragtime” as our spring musical, we had no idea what we were getting into, save, of course, for our theatre director. About two months ago, a member of the NAACP brought the case to our superintendent, Dr. Joseph Meloche, who immediately ordered the play censored. Unfortunately, it was not that simple. The production company, Theatre International, responded in no uncertain terms that the show would go on uncensored or the play would not go on at all. That ultimatum delivered, war broke out: students versus the school board. After two weeks of walking on eggshells and tightrope negotiations, Meloche uncensored the play under the following conditions: first, all English and history classes, for the week leading up to the play, would contain a 90-minute lesson on immigration and racial slurs; secondly, all students would watch the play: the freshman and sophomores would watch it one week, the juniors and seniors the other.

For those of you not familiar with “Ragtime,” the story is based on a novel by E. L. Doctorow and is about three different groups of people navigating through the tumultuous first years of the 20th Century. The story follows a White, upper-class Christian family living in the comfort of New Rochelle, New York. Nameless except for their roles in the family, characters such as Father, Mother, and Younger Brother soon meet Coalhouse Walker, a Black musician from Harlem, and Tateh, a poor, Jewish immigrant from Latvia. The moral of the story is that America is a melting pot of people who, despite their differences, are all equal. The play shows this, however, by a converse proof strategy. The viewer is made to be a firsthand witness to the racism and anti-Semitism that one expects to read about in textbooks.

The play is hard to stomach. Though not personally affected by the slurs against POCs in the play, the sting was there, and hearing anti-Semitic slurs, as a Jewish boy descendant of Holocaust victims, was inexorable, but that is, in fact, the point. America’s history is not comfortable. America’s history is not the grand opera of greatness it is so often projected as. We are a country that has condoned the owning, murdering, and interment of millions, and that is so often forgotten with the bravado and drama of politics. Broadway, especially musicals, have been fighting against this. And that is what makes “Ragtime” so effective: the show doesn’t sugarcoat. It asks the question (almost word for word) “Where is justice if this is America?”

As angry as the play can be at times, the underlying moral is one of hope, and while equality is not always present in America, it can and should be. Coalhouse dreams of an America that will accept him before he wakes to the truth that it was never that simple. Tateh dreams of a life of success and freedom in America, but finds that “the tenements of the Lower East Side were worse than anything he had suffered in Latvia.” The nameless White family wakes up from a slumber of ignorance. A line from a song later in the play in which Coalhouse meets the Younger Brother character, says it all: “Two men meeting, for a moment, in the darkness: one turning from (one waking to) America.”

That is the core of “Ragtime”:  if we simply can wake ourselves up, change can be achieved. The play rings chilling echoes of today, where police are unscrupulously killing POCs in the streets, and Muslim immigrants, instead of Jewish immigrants, are being desecrated by an unwelcoming America. We young activists have a lot to learn from this two-and-a-half-hour tale: how to fight with compassion, how to look introspectively, and how to wake our world up from its slumber of ignorance. That is why our school did not censor this play, and that is why we cannot censor the ugly past of America, because it actually wakes us up.

Which leads me back to two weeks ago, gasping with 499 other students in my school’s auditorium as Coalhouse is defaced and disgraced, and though I had long been awake to the injustices of our society, I could see it in my classmates’ faces: they had finally woken up, too.

The post How Our School Play Woke Us Up to Racism appeared first on YEA Camp.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbjabTS5kac]
Endearing, right? How can you not be moved by this kid’s passion for the environment?

At YEA Camp, we know that as a loving parent it warms your heart to see your kid display such enthusiasm for an important cause. We also know that it can be upsetting to see your child feel so helpless over wishing they knew how to make a difference.

Don’t fret, loving parents, at YEA Camp we specialize in empowering children and teenagers to make the world a better place. That’s why we’ve devised a helpful list so you can nurture your courageous kid’s activism.

1. Make It Fun

Look Ma, activism is a blast!

The cause itself may be super serious, but your kid’s fight for the cause doesn’t have to be.

Did someone say delicious vegan cupcakes? How about assisting your child in holding a bake sale to raise money for their cause?

I’ll have three, please! Okay, let’s make that four!

Tapping into their artistic or creative talents, using social media, or getting friends involved are other great ways to make activism fun. Your kid’s much more likely to stick with their activism if they have a good time doing it.

2. Connect With Organizations

Now that your child is inspired to care about a particular cause, it’s important that he or she understands that cause and sees how others are tackling the issue.

The best way to learn is by introducing them to respected organizations that are leading the way on their respective issue.

Don’t have time to do all that research? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a helpful cheat sheet of amazing organizations that are fighting for the environment, LGBT rights, human rights, animal rights and more.

3. Listen To Your Kids… Really Listen

Children are full of wisdom if parents take the time to listen to them, and we’ve got two epic examples of parents who do just that.

In this first video, a young child in Nepal finds out that his parents are taking his beloved goat to be slaughtered, so he does everything in his power to get his parents to spare the animal’s life. His tenacity and kindness are an inspiration to behold. Imagine the trauma if his parents had ignored his pleas.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwIK7cjfVpg]
In this second viral video, a toddler in Brazil has a heartfelt debate with his mother at the dinner table about the ethics of killing and eating other animals. His points are both innocent and poignant, as only a child can articulate.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrU03da2arE]
These videos aren’t depicting children throwing bratty tantrums. These kids are sensitive souls who realize that the adults around them are harming animals, and it upsets them. The parents are respectful enough to listen to their children’s merciful pleas and agree not to harm the animals. These are beautiful moments of compassion caught on camera.

Whatever issues inspire your kids to express their passion, your support empowers them to think for themselves and to pursue their compassionate nature to be a caring person.

4. Introduce Them To A Mentor

Say hi to Shelby!

A great way to learn about a subject is to seek guidance from someone who specializes in that field. Help your child find an expert who’s willing to advise them on their journey of discovery.

This is an area in which we really pride ourselves at YEA Camp. Our talented staff is comprised of highly qualified professionals with teaching credentials and expertise in youth development, as well as accomplished former campers like Shelby, with much wisdom to impart. We give each camper the counseling they need to get their activism off to the right start.

5. Join Them!

Joyce & her mother Mildred on their way to the People’s Climate March. What an inspiring team!

What better way to encourage your budding activist than to join them in their activism? Not only can this make it more fun (see #1) and double their impact, but it also creates a supportive family culture, where it’s understood that people care about others and stand up for what they believe in. Plus, you’ll definitely have more to talk about at the dinner table than what they learned (or didn’t learn) in school.

6. Well, Join Them… Within Reason

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3Fg61KWing]
No kid wants their parent hanging out with them all the time. Give them space to follow their passion independently as well. Sometimes that could mean just giving them a ride somewhere, helping them manage their schedule, or asking if they need any help.

7. Say, “Yes, You Can,” Not “No, You Can’t”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdCbYflyD68]
See all those demoralizing insults Simon Cowell spewed at aspiring singers on “American Idol”? As a parent, do the opposite.

If your kid tells you that he or she wants to reduce homelessness in your town, don’t discourage them with details about how difficult it’s going to be. Celebrate that they care about such a crucial cause, and help them set goals for bringing about that change. Twelve-year-old Megan has raised thousands of dollars with her school club for homeless people in Boston.

Kids need someone to tell them to dream big, and to help them strive for their goals, not set low expectations.

8. Help Them Believe In Themselves

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DIETlxquzY]
All too often our worst enemy is ourselves. Kids can be really hard on themselves, shooting down their own great plans before they’ve even given them a try, because they’re afraid they’re not up to the task. As their parent, you can give them the confidence they need to tackle any undertaking, no matter how impossible it may seem.

Providing a safe and loving home environment, encouragement in their endeavors, as well as support, perspective and understanding when things don’t go as planned.

9. Set A Positive Example

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zoS2IfXRW4]
Be the type of person who rescues a baby elephant who is stuck in a mud hole. Your kids will be better people with a role model like that. Whether it’s rescuing an animal (have you noticed we like animals at YEA Camp?), donating money to a nonprofit or candidate, volunteering, or conserving, the lessons your kids learn from watching you will last a lifetime.

10. Teach Intersectionality

This one’s a Level 5 on the empowerment scale, but it’s important to note that oppressive institutions—racism, sexism and so on—are interconnected and you’ll expand your child’s understanding of the world by helping them make those connections.

Does your child care about the environment? Great! Teach him or her the ways in which pollution disproportionately affects poor people and people of color, or how the environment is negatively impacted by the meat industry.

Does your child want to stop bullying? Fantastic! Teach him or her about how LGBT youth are nearly twice as likely to be bullied than their non-LGBT peers.

We need the next generation of advocates to be aware of the interconnection of the many different issues we face and to be allies for these different causes.

Best Parent Of The Year!

Thank you for being your kid’s greatest champion! We need more brave young change-makers in this world, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

You’ve raised a compassionate kid who wants to make a difference. It would be our great honor at YEA Camp to meet your wonderful young activist (the camp is open to kids ages 12-17) and guide him or her to follow their dreams. At YEA Camp, they’ll be surrounded by like-minded peers and adults who want to help them, and they’ll develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to take action on what really matters to them.

Follow the above tips (and send your kids to YEA Camp or nominate someone who you know would love it!), and they’ll be well on their way to achieving great things, because any parent should support a kid who’d really rather visit a broccoli farm than support animal abuse at the circus.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7yMZGA2lzg]

The post 10 Ways Parents Can Empower Their Courageous Child Activist appeared first on YEA Camp.

Even though I was one of the oldest campers, I was constantly being inspired by ALL of the other kids; it did not matter if they were 11 or 17. What all of them had accomplished even before camp was moving, and what they had planned for after camp was just exhilarating to hear about. The community was full of positivity- no bullying, no gossiping, people would not even let you put yourself down! The counselors were wonderfully diverse, yet they were all brought together by their passion for activism.

For every topic there was a counselor that specialized in it, which meant that we got to create our IOIs (Issue of Importance) with someone who had firsthand experience in that area. Our relationship with our counselors continues to flourish because they stay in touch with us, giving us connections related to our campaigns, telling us about events we may be interested in, and providing support, because being an activist is not always easy.

We had several workshops every day, and they were all extremely interesting and informational. My favorite one was about intersectionality, because it’s important to realize how all areas of injustice connect in some way. I actually replicated it when I got home in my environmental club at school!

We learned about campaigning, which was helpful because I had no idea there was a right and wrong way to passing out leaflets! There were also two workshops dedicated specifically to racism and gender, because being knowledgeable about these issues is helpful no matter what area of activism you want to go into. We talked about school clubs (which gave me many ideas for the environmental club that I had just started) and nonviolent communication (which is beneficial to ALL aspects of your life — not just activism!).

It was also evident that the staff cared about us as people, not just as activists. The most vivid memory I have of camp was being asked to write down the raw emotions behind and about the causes we care about. Why do we care about the issues that we do? What makes us so passionate? These were all questions that we were told to ponder while writing our responses. When we were finished, everyone’s reflections were read anonymously. Many tears were shed, but the support we received for sharing these more hidden parts of ourselves was immense.

Towards the end of the week, we had our YEA Show, where we had the opportunity to share talents or projects or anything that we wanted to show that we hadn’t yet that week. Sometimes the acts were goofy (I did a trio with two counselors, me on piccolo, one of them on flute, and the other on an Indian flute, where we performed a silly rendition of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”), and sometimes they were extremely deep (campers and counselors alike shared powerful poetry about activism).

The best part about this night was that EVERYONE got a standing ovation. We did this for two other events as well — when we were telling everyone about our action plan (what we wanted to do with our IOI after camp) and when we were doing a public speaking activity. How amazing it feels to be only a senior in high school and have already received three standing ovations in my life. There is nothing that boosts your confidence more than that! The staff also made sure that we accepted the applause, because even though it may not seem like it, learning to embrace people’s appreciation for you is just as crucial as anything we learned in a workshop.

The food was exceptional, and it was incredibly exciting to find out that several campers, who had come to the camp for issues other than animal rights, decided to go vegan after camp! It definitely demonstrated that many people will find that vegan food is amazing and that maintaining a vegan lifestyle is totally possible, if they are just presented with some good vegan food to try!

Some breakfast foods included French toast, breakfast sandwiches, and pancakes; some examples of snacks were watermelon, popcorn, and hummus; lunches were anything from veggie burgers to pizza to grilled cheese; our amazing dinners were usually some sort of ethnic food — Mexican, Indian, and Chinese to name a few; and every night ended with a dessert such as brownies, cookies, or cupcakes.

Plus, our cooks were especially talented in accommodating dietary needs people had, like gluten-free, berry-free, and soy-free. They also pride themselves in cooking with organic and local ingredients as much as possible. No one ever went hungry that week!

We were very fortunate at our camp specifically because we had the opportunity to stay on the new location of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. Almost every day we had the chance to spend some time with the sweet rescued creatures. There were cows, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, guinea hens, and ducks. I had never been to a sanctuary before, and it was deeply beautiful to be able to pet — or even snuggle up with — the animals that I am dedicating my life to saving. Several of us even got to volunteer for a bit by cleaning out pens and brushing the goats and sheep!

Reading this account of Amanda’s experience at YEA Camp was so inspiring to us! If you feel the same and you’re 12-17, or you know someone who is and would love YEA Camp, now is the time to get registered! Find out all the dates and details at www.YEACamp.org.

The post “What Is the Coolest Thing You’ve Ever Done?” Read This Teen’s Answer appeared first on YEA Camp.

Every year, thousands of people across North America participate in an incredible mass display of compassion towards farmed animals — some of the most abused on the planet. Farm Sanctuary’s annual Walk for Farm Animals campaign is a hugely successful national fundraiser to support the organization, which works to rescue and rehabilitate mistreated farm animals at its three (soon to be four) farmland sanctuaries in California and New York.

Anyone who wants to participate can register online and join a “team” with which to walk in one of fourteen different cities across the U.S. and one in Canada.

Because Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp serves vegan food and values animal rights alongside other important social justice issues it trains campers to work on, it’s no surprise that a lot of campers and staff members joined the Walk at locations all over the country.

In a mini reunion, YEA Camp counselor Madeleine Lifsey joined camp director/founder Nora Kramer and former campers (now staff!) Shelby Kim and Jasmine Caruk at the Boston March. They also volunteered to gather signatures for Massachusetts’ ballot initiative for farm animals, which has since qualified to be voted on in November 2016.

A larger YEA Camp reunion took place at the New York Walk for Farm Animals, where campers Ananya Singh, Eva Schenk, Bryn Colodny, Ollie Smith, Lillian Davis-Bosch, Sarah Sciortino, Rachel Gayle, Marcela Cueto and Lori Baccari formed a team that came in third place for amount of money raised, at $1,681.
If that’s not awesome enough, they also got to meet Farm Sanctuary founder Gene Baur and talk with him about YEA Camp! They leafleted along the way, and even passed out leaflets on the subway after it was over before going out to have vegan lunch.

Ananya recounts, “It was an enjoyable experience, and it helped me learn about the great things Farm Sanctuary is doing, and to meet and educate people about it!” Ananya also won top youth fundraiser for the NYC WFFA.

YEA Campers participated in these walks on the east coast, on the west coast, and in the Midwest.

Claire Tamburello, 18-year-old former camper who this year worked a Counselor In Training at YEA Camp’s New York camp, has been a dedicated animal activist for years, as featured on our YEA Camp blog. She is a regular at Farm Sanctuary walks and raised money and awareness for animals in Grand Rapids, MI.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, former camper Marley Goldman walked in Seattle (joined by her awesome mom Gail) and won first place as the top teen fundraiser at $660! Go Marley!

I myself walked in Hartford and raised hundreds of dollars for farm animals. It was a wonderful experience!

Not only did I get to speak up in the name of animals, but I also got to walk with a group of brilliant animal activists from my own community.

My whole family walked with me, including my dog! By raising over $100, I received a special T-shirt I wore for the walk. Afterwards, we all got to hang out in the park, eat vegan snacks, and listen to a live performance.

What an amazing, heartwarming experience! The compassion shown by these YEA Campers and everyone who marched and fundraised is enormous. Thanks to their dedication and many other kind advocates and donors from across the country, Farm Sanctuary was able to raise nearly $150,000 for farm animals over the course of just a few days.

We can be certain that next fall, YEA Campers will be back on the streets of the largest cities in the country, at it again. For more information on Farm Sanctuary’s life-saving work, visit farmsanctuary.org and check out walkforfarmanimals.org to learn how you can sign up to walk next year!

The youth activists mentioned in this article all nurtured and developed their activist passions, skills, and community at Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp, a life-changing summer camp for world-changing teens. 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, New York and Massachusetts. New York’s session will be a special session just for animal advocates held at the similarly amazing Woodstock Farm Sanctuary! Register by Valentine’s Day 2016 to earn an early-bird discount of $150!

About the author: Leah is a 17-year-old, two-time Youth Empowered Action Camp alum and co-editor of the YEA Blog. She has a special interest in animal rights and has visited Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York, where she made friends with cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys and goats!

The post Teen Activists Across the Country Walk to Save Animals appeared first on YEA Camp.