About Camp Fire USA

Providing nearly a century of service to America youth and their families, Camp Fire USA is one of the nation's leading not-for-profit youth and family development organizations, serving nearly three quarters of a million participants annually. With national headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., Camp Fire provides all-inclusive, coeducational programs in hundreds of communities across the United States. By design, Camp Fire's programs, including small group experiences, after-school programs, camping and environmental education, child care and service learning, build confidence in younger children and provide hands-on, youth-driven leadership experiences for older youth. For more information, visit www.campfireusa.org or see below.

Our Mission Statement: Camp Fire USA builds caring, confident youth and future leaders.

Camp Fire USA achieves this mission using 12 core values and identified outcomes for healthy children and youth. Chief among Camp Fire USA core values are:

• Small group experiences where children and youth are actively involved in their own learning
• Coeducation that provides opportunities for children and families to develop together
• An inclusive environment that welcomes all children, youth, adults and families
• Leadership opportunities engaging youth to give service and make decisions

Currently serving nearly three quarters of a million participants annually, Camp Fire USA is a leader in after-school and out-of-school time programming. By design, Camp Fire USA programs build confidence in younger children and provide hands-on, youth-driven leadership experiences for teens and young adults. Program outcomes are measured using an Outcome Measurement Tool Kit designed in collaboration with Formative Evaluation Research Associates.

• Afterschool Programs Our K-5^th grade programs provide 50 weeks of curriculum and hundreds of activities to ensure the accumulation of developmental assets and enhanced academic achievement. Every activity includes the social and academic competency being developed. All new middle school programs began debuting in the 2003-2004 academic year.
• Community Family Club Community Family Club emphasizes the value of small groups where children receive positive adult interaction not only with parents, but also with non-family teens and adults. Meeting two or three times a month, families gather at the local school, faith-based organization, business, housing complex or community center. Children, pre-schoolers through teens, and adult volunteers participate in community meals, whole-family projects, informal activities, field trips and special events with other families. Adults share leadership, making it easy to be involved and invested in the program. The curriculum is directly tied to asset-based, measurable outcomes and educational competency standards identified by Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), which is recognized by the United States Department of Education.
• Teens in Action This leadership and service-learning program empowers older youth to make a lasting difference in their communities using their own strategies, planning and talents. Youth are given a chance not only to learn, but also to mentor younger children. More than 62,000 young people are currently being reached through Teens in Action nationwide; over 100,000 teens and young adults lead in Camp Fire USA.
• Service-Learning Our A Gift of Giving program for grades K-8^th is the nation only organized and measurable introduction to service-learning. It is a flexible, six-week program designed for delivery by teachers, parents and community volunteers. Over 100,000 children and youth have participated in this innovative program.
• Camping and Environmental Education Outdoor experiences help children work in groups, make friends and build self-esteem while learning about ecology, conservation and the interrelationships of all living things. Camp Fire USA councils across the nation offer resident camp, day camp, overnight camping, environmental education and short-term outdoor recreation to more than 70,000 youth annually.
• Self-Reliance Courses Delivered as a part of the school experience, these programs foster confidence, character and responsibility in youth. They use age-appropriate activities to teach youth to take responsibility for their own words and actions. Young children learn how to identify and respond to dangerous or emergency situations and gain age-appropriate conflict resolution skills. Children in third through sixth grades learn how to manage anger and peer pressure through games, visual aids, role playing and take-home materials. Older youth are taught how to take care of and play with infants and toddlers.

Founded in 1910, Camp Fire USA was the first nonsectarian, interracial organization for girls in the United States. Based on a commitment to the entire family, whatever its structure, membership was expanded to include boys in 1975. For the past century, Camp Fire USA has served over 42 million children and youth, helping them become caring, confident leaders.

Our core values:

For more information about Camp Fire USA, please contact:

Camp Fire USA

4601 Madison Avenue

Kansas City, MO 64112-1278

Telephone: 816 756 1950

Fax: 816 756 0258

E-mail: info@campfireusa.org

www.campfireusa.org