Leadership Training for Social Change
NOTE: THIS WAS OUR SITE FOR YEA CAMP 2021, which happened and went super well!
You can read about it here!
Read on below to learn more about our virtual camps!
We'll be announcing our plans for Summer 2022 soon!
Join us virtually for 1, 2, 3, or 4 incredible weeks to
get started or get serious as a changemaker.
For young people ages 10-17 who want to make the world a better place.
Because we could all use a little help making a big difference.
Becoming a Changemaker | July 12 - 16, 2021
Understanding the Issues | July 19 - 23, 2021
Skills to Make a Difference | July 26 - 30, 2021
Careers for Changemakers | Aug 2 - 6, 2021

You might have noticed there are some big problems in the world.
Obviously, coronavirus, but also racism and police brutality, climate change, sexism, homophobia, poverty, gun violence, animal cruelty.... Should we go on?
Caring about these issues is one thing. But knowing what to do about them and actually taking action is something else -- and that's exactly how YEA Camp will help.
For the past decade, we've helped over 1,000 aspiring activists make a bigger impact on the causes they care about.
They've changed school policies, helped get candidates elected, organized protests, launched school clubs, and so much more that they say wouldn't have happened without their experience at YEA Camp.
If you care about making our world a better place, YEA Camp was meant for you. And we're bringing it right to your home so we can all make a bigger difference together.
Virtual YEA Camp Will Help You:
- Learn more about the problems in the world and what you can do about them
- Do activism now and develop practical skills to make a difference in the future
- Build your confidence to express yourself, step up as a leader, and do what you believe in
- Make friends with other amazing humans who will inspire and support you
- Develop a plan and take action to make a difference in a way that inspires you
- Have so much fun and learn a ton that you would probably not learn elsewhere
The knowledge, skills, confidence, and community that you build through YEA Camp will help you make a bigger difference on the causes you care about for years to come.
A Day in the Life at Virtual YEA Camp
Our days are packed with fun and inspiring activities, including some of our favorite things from our in-person camp and other activities we can only do virtually. Each day, you'll get to experience:
- A teach-in with experienced activists to help you make a bigger impact on your cause
- Small group time to do activism with other campers and staff who care about the same issue you do
- Interactive activities taught by experts, like arts activism, yoga, improv, vegan cooking, poetry, HIIT, gardening, a virtual visit to an animal sanctuary, self-care, and more.
- Fun evening activities to connect with other campers, like our YEA Show, Scavenger Hunt, Show Off and Tell, Activist Trivia, and a dance party
- Unstructured hangout time in small groups to make friends you can relate to
- Enough time between activities to go do your own thing with friends or family
Of course we want you to come to everything, but it's OK if you need to miss an activity or a day! We'll send you recordings so you can catch up.


A note on the schedule and your time zone:
We're displaying 2 different schedules to help you see what the day would look like in your area, but there is 1 just camp per session, regardless of where you're located. Let us know if you have questions!
How Will You Change The World?
Each week, we'll be doing CTW projects -- as in Change the World!
In small groups, alongside an amazing staff member, you'll get to:
- EDUCATE yourself and others on the cause you care most about. Create your What Is Your Why, help develop a resource guide on your issue, and learn the basics you'll need to know to advocate for your cause.
- ADVOCATE for what you care about. You'll get to make calls, write letters, post on social media, make art, and persuade people to take action you believe in.
- DONATE even if you don't have any money! Your small group will raise funds for the organization of your choice to help make an even bigger difference.
- IDEATE 🙂 and PLAN how you will take action on your cause once camp is over.
We're not aware of any program like this, and we don't know if we'll offer it again, so we hope you'll take advantage and join us this summer to take your get started or get serious about making a bigger impact in the world.

I'm ready! How do I join?
Tuition is $300 per week, or $250 if you register for more than 1 session, so:
- 1 session = $300
- any 2 sessions = $500
- any 3 sessions = $750
- all 4 sessions = $1,000
To register, just click here or on any of the orange buttons on this page. It should take about 10 minutes for a camper to fill out their registration form, and then automatically get taken to the payment page to sign up or apply for financial aid, if needed.
We offer a sibling discount of $100 off for the second sibling. We also offer group discounts for 6+ kids, if you have a group of friends. Email us about it and we'll get you set up.
Join us for 1, 2, 3, or all 4 sessions!
Regardless of your level of experience, each session will help you get started or get serious about making a difference.
Becoming a Changemaker | July 12-16
- Intro to activism
- Examining privilege
- Becoming an advocate
- Finding your voice
Understanding the Issues | July 19-23
- Human rights issues (racism, gender equality + poverty)
- Climate change
- Animal rights
- How these issues all connect
Skills to Make a Difference | July 26-30
- Communication for activists
- Planning a campaign
- Fundraising
- Running a great school club
Careers for Changemakers | Aug 2-6
- Turn what you love to do into a job
- How, why + why not to work for a nonprofit
- Bring an activist mentality to work
- Social entrepreneurship
Financial Aid
FAQs for Summer 2021
Yes! Each session will have different workshops and variety of activities, so you will learn different things each week. Each session can stand on its own, so if you're only available for 1, 2, or 3 weeks, that's OK too (though we would miss you)!
Our number 1 priority at YEA Camp is the safety of our campers and staff. Thankfully, Covid vaccines for adults are gradually being administered and we are approaching a return to normalcy across the US, but vaccines for youth haven't even been approved yet. There is still so much uncertainty about the safety of group gatherings, let alone gathering in the small quarters of a sleep-away camp, we just don't feel it's responsible to hold in-person camps this summer.
Our Virtual YEA Camp was a huge success in 2020, and in fact there are lots of great things we can do virtually that we aren't able to do in-person, like have amazing guest speakers who otherwise wouldn't be able to travel to us, working online together or different activist projects, and making the program accessible for people from far away who might not be able to attend.
We look forward to our in-person YEA Camps in 2022 and to continue offering virtual programming in the future because of how successful it has been.
YEA Camp is designed to help move you further along on your changemaking journey. We are confident that wherever you are on your path, you will learn a ton, make amazing friends, build your confidence, and have lots of fun.
While of course we would love for you to join every activity everyday (and we don't think you'll want to miss anything!), it's totally up to you if you skip something or miss a day. We will be recording workshops and free time activities so you can do them later.
We had a team of about 20 past YEA Campers and staffers spend months developing Virtual YEA Camp in 2020 to bring the best of what we do in-person into a virtual space, and we got rave reviews!
The curriculum of both in-person and virtual YEA Camps are both based on building knowledge, skills, confidence, and community -- and we have been able to adapt a lot of the activities we do at in-person camp to do virtually.
There are also advantaget to doing camp virtually, like having amazing speakers amd campers who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend, getting to collaborate on activist projects in real time, and of course being safe for our community.
There is still space available! We don't have a registration deadline as long as space is still available. The earlier you register the more we can make sure to be prepared to help you with the cause you're most passionate about and plan to hire accordingly.
We will be using 3 free platforms to run Virtual YEA Camp: Zoom, Google Classroom, and Slack, though technically you don't need any of those and could participate without any tech or Internet at all as long as you had a phone of some kind.
We'll hold our activities over Zoom (which most of you are probably experts in at this point!). If you miss anything, the recordings will be stored in our Google Classroom, as will some pre-camp materials we will encourage campers to check out ahead of time.
One way Virtual YEA Camp feels more like camp than just some Zoom classes is that we keep in touch throughout the day using Slack. Slack is an app and website that enables people to stay in touch in a more organized way and without needing to exchange personal information.
We recommend that if campers have a smartphone that they download the Slack app to be able to easily send and receive messages throughout the day, as well as to get our reminders about upcoming activities. Using Slack is entirely optional, but it will greatly enhance the experience.
One session of Virtual YEA Camp costs $300, and if you register for more than session, each session will be $250 each.
We offer financial aid to families who need it. Campers should fill out their registration form by clicking the orange button and camper and guardian will get an auto email reply with a link to apply for financial aid.
We offer a full refund minus $25 per session until June 1. After that, we offer 50% refund per session until Friday 5pm PST before your session starts. Registration is fully transferrable to a different session or to a different person (provided that they fill out their registration form and we agree that they are a good fit for the program) with no fee until Friday 5pm PST before your session starts. If there's a need for last-minute cancellation, we can credit your funds toward future participation in one of our (virtual or in-person) programs or transition it to a tax-deductible donation.
Every year, we gather an amazing team of dedicated activists, educators, and changemakers for our campers to learn from. Doing YEA Camp virtually means we can have even more amazing folks who otherwise might not have been able to join us in person.
All of our staff at our virtual sessions are outstanding former YEA Campers who have done lots of activism and are great role models and advisors for our up-and-coming campers. Learn more about our past staff here.
We are finalizing this year's speakers, but to learn more about our incredible speakers from last year, see below!
Your Amazing Counselors, Teachers + Guest Speakers
One of the bright sides of holding YEA Camp virtually is we are able to offer incredible guest speakers who otherwise wouldn't be available to join us in-person or overnight for a whole week during the summer.
Check out some of our amazing Virtual YEA Camp speakers and staff!
Rose Aguilar
Progressive journalist, longtime host of KALW "Your Call" radio show, author of Red Highways

Andina Aste-Nieto
Instructor of Multicultural Education, therapist serving the Native American community, 6x YEA staff member

Leanne Alaman
Anti-racist, inclusive leadership coach, restorative justice facilitator, 7x YEA Camp staff member
Monica Carr
4x YEA Camp staff member, educator, aspiring farmer, and soil advocate with 15+ years of activism experience on many social justice causes.
Julia Clark
Former YEA Camper, VP of UNC’s Black Student Movement. Julia got the name of her high school changed from a confederate general to Justice High School.
Alina de Zoysa
Former YEA Camper, president of community service organization Rays of Hope and LEAD for Diversity club; helped pass a law in New Jersey to end lunch shaming.
Maya Diaz-Villalta
Former YEA Camper. Queer, Indigenous, Chicanx artist. Founder of Naturalmente Indigena, connecting Native youth with their culture, Earth, and higher education.
Eddie Garza
Celebrity vegan chef, author of Salud! Vegan Mexican Cookbook, Senior Associate of Food & Nutrition for HSUS
Dr. Abel Gomez
Former YEA Camp counselor. PhD and postdoctorate fellow in the Native American Studies department of University of Oklahoma

Sarah Goody
Former YEA Camper, vegan teen climate activist, Bay Area organizer of Climate Strike and founder of Climate NOW, writer featured in Teen Vogue
Leah Kelly
2x YEA Camper, PETA2 Activist of the Year. In high school, Leah got Meatless Mondays implemented in her entire school district.

Ana Little-Saña
Former YEA Camper, political activist and organizer. Currently an associate at eStreet Group, where she works on behalf of the country's most progressive leaders.
Toni Okamoto
Founder of the popular website and meal plan Plant-Based on a Budget and author of book by the same name.
Charles Orgbon III
Sustainability and social innovation strategist; founded the nonprofit organization Greening Forward when he was just 12 years old
Dr. Alice Ragland
Dr. Ragland has a PhD in Multicultural and Equity Studies in Education from The Ohio State University

Ananya Singh
2x YEA Camper and 3x YEA staff member; youth climate activist and former CEO of Greening Forward
Praise from Past YEA Campers
"For me, YEA Camp was a very clear turning point [when I was 12 years old] where before this moment I was not an activist and I did not know what an activist even was, and then after this moment... that was really a spark for me. It was really a life-changing experience for me."
-Ananya Singh, youth climate organizer; former CEO, Greening Forward
" Five and a half years ago, as a 15-year-old, I attended 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."
-Leah Kelly, college student; led successful campaign to get Meatless Mondays in her school district
“If not for YEA Camp, I wouldn’t be starting this club to help the homeless because I wouldn’t know how to, or what to do when I started it.”
-Megan Frisella, founder of Helping Hands for the Homeless club, which has raised thousands of dollars for homeless people in Boston
“You all changed my life a couple summers ago. YEA Camp changed my focus in life and opened my mind to compassion and love for everyone. I have gotten into amazing colleges because I learned so much from everyone that one week in July many months ago and I couldn’t have done it without YEA Camp.”
-Ethan Lyne, political organizer.
Ethan was a leader in the successful campaign to get a polling place at his school, Haverford College.
Praise from Past YEA Campers
"For me, YEA Camp was a very clear turning point [when I was 12 years old], where before this moment I was not an activist and I did not know what an activist even was, and then after this moment... that was really a spark for me. It was really a life-changing experience for me.
[YEA Camp takes the approach of] breaking down what is possible for young people to do and then giving them the confidence, the community, the courage, and also the tangible skills and the knowledge to really implement these things."
-Ananya Singh, youth climate organizer; CEO, Greening Forward
" Five and a half years ago, as a 15-year-old, I attended 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."
-Leah Kelly, college student; led successful campaign to get Meatless Mondays in her school district
"If not for YEA Camp, I wouldn't be starting this club to help the homeless because I wouldn't know how to, or what to do when to start it."
-Megan Frisella, 12, founder of Helping Hands for the Homeless club
"You all changed my life a couple summers ago. YEA Camp changed my focus in life and opened my mind to compassion and love for everyone. I have gotten into amazing colleges because I learned so much from everyone that one week in July many months ago, and I couldn't have done it without YEA Camp."
-Ethan Lyne, 18, political organizer
Still have questions? Send us an email, chat with us in the chat box, or give us a call at 415-710-7351. We'll be happy to answer any questions you have!
We look forward to speaking with you or, better yet, meeting you at Virtual YEA Camp this summer!