We’re celebrating another summer full of connection, growth, and fun at all nine of our camps! We are thrilled that we welcomed 154 new families, many who joined us because of glowing reviews of HCAF and dedicated recruitment by our previous camp families!
Cultural communities, counselors, & adult adoptees make an impact
As always, we were very fortunate to have community members and adoptees shaping our programming and teaching our kids. We had 263 presenters sharing their expertise with our camp families. Our camp counselors are very much the heart and soul of camp (as many of you know when your kids come home gushing about them). We had 350 dedicated camp counselors, serving as role models and racial/cultural mirrors for our kids!
Supporting all campers
We rolled out our Diverse Needs program and had many families who chose to complete an intake process with their child’s primary camp counselor, which gave the counselors a more complete understanding of accommodations, health conditions, and how to best support each camper during their four days together. We received very positive feedback from both parents and camp counselors, and we even observed camp counselors using some of the new tools they received in their training.
Adoptive families and adoptees in their own voices
9 News Denver joined us in (snowy!) Snow Mountain Ranch in Fraser for Latin American Heritage Camp in June. As an adult adoptee, Carolina Lasater explained, “Being adopted, I kind of didn’t know where I fit in, because I had a White parent, and I was an only child, and I was Brown… I think that camp is very valuable, that you send a child to Heritage Camps, you show them that they’re not the only one, and that they can fit in.” If you missed the video from 9 News, you can check it out here!
Thank you to all the camp counselors, presenters, cultural community members, and parent volunteers who made it a successful camp season! And thank you to our generous donors who collectively contributed over $37,000 at camp registration. You help us keep camp accessible and equitable!