LEADERSHIP AT CAMP

At Camp Brave Trails, we hold a firm belief in the limitless reservoirs of resilience and creativity inherent in LGBTQ+ youth. Our aspiration is to guide our campers toward recognizing themselves as potential leaders and to harness their exceptional talents in shaping a more positive world. What sets Camp Brave Trails apart is our distinctive leadership program, meticulously crafted with LGBTQ+ youth in mind. Within this program, we offer an array of enriching workshops, engagement in service projects, participation in social justice endeavors, and access to our renowned Passion To Action Program.

By the end of their camp experience, our campers depart with a toolkit that empowers them to blossom into self-assured, impassioned, and valiant emerging leaders.

 
 

WORKSHOPS

 
 
 

We bring in some of the most inspiring and innovative trailblazers of our time to teach our camper and give them the tools they the need to be leaders in their communities. Campers will participate in 6 to 8 workshops of their choice over the course of their camp session. Check out some examples of our workshops:

  • Anti-Racism

  • LGBTQ History

  • identity exploration & Gender

  • Knowing Your Rights By the ACLU

  • Environmentalism & Sustainability

  • Coming Out Support

  • Body Positivity

  • Public Speaking

  • Starting a LGBTQ School Club

  • Intersectionality (Race, Gender, and More!)

  • Mindfulness

  • LGBTQ Friendly Colleges

  • Landing Your First Job Out and Proud

  • And so many more!

 
 
 

PASSION TO ACTION PROGRAM

 
 
 

The Passion To Action program is centered on equipping young individuals with the skills they need to understand how to organize and advocate for their beliefs. The program's primary goal is to empower youth, fostering them into exceptional leaders who can make a significant impact on their home communities. This might involve active participation in their school's Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) or leading efforts for social change.

Consistently, our campers have shared that our Passion to Action (PTA) program is one of the most transformative experiences during their time at camp. Essentially, we empower campers to translate their individual passions into tangible, everyday actions. Many of our campers have leveraged the skills acquired through our PTA program to accomplish remarkable feats, including:

  • Engaging in discussions with the mayor of Chicago to advocate for the implementation of gender-neutral bathrooms in public schools.

  • Running for the position of student body president as the first openly gay candidate, promoting inclusivity and diversity.

  • Initiating petitions with a school board in a small town in Oklahoma to establish LGBTQ clubs at local high schools.

  • Utilizing their narratives to demand fair and equitable treatment for transgender and non-binary students in public school sports teams.

These examples illustrate just a few of the inspiring stories that have emerged from our Passion To Action program.

 
 
 

SERVICE PROJECTS

 

At the heart of our mission lies a strong emphasis on leadership, with one of its most vital components being the spirit of giving back to others. Each day, our entire camp community unites to delve into a particular social justice issue, and collectively, our campers conceive and carry out a service project aimed at addressing this issue. Through this process, campers gain practical hands-on experience encompassing budget management, team leadership, supply list planning, material acquisition, time management, documentation, presentation skills, expressions of gratitude towards mentors, and, of course, the successful execution of their projects.

The themes and nature of these service projects vary from one session to the next, as our campers have full autonomy in selecting the topics and shaping the project designs. Many campers subsequently express that the comprehensive experience of project planning has inspired them to believe they can replicate these efforts within their home communities.