When the school bell rings – whether for the day or for the summer – many Portland-area youth need a place to go. A safe place where a caring adult greets them with a warm smile… A place where they can get help with school work, learn valuable life skills, make friends, and understand the value of community service… A place where they can become caring, confident youth and future leaders.
Camp Fire is that place.
One of the Portland Metro area’s oldest and largest not-for-profit
youth development organizations, Camp Fire USA’s mission is building
caring, confident youth and future leaders. Through year-around educational
and recreational programs or boys and girls, we give young people the
skills and motivation they need to be healthy, caring, and confident –
today and in the future.
Camping
Camp Fire believes the camping experience is a powerful tool in youth
development. The opportunity for children to live, work and play together
in a natural setting is a memory they will cherish forever. The friends
they make and the confidence they gain in a Camp Fire camp is something
that can be matched nowhere else. Camps Melacoma (Washougal, WA), Namanu
(Sandy, OR) and Onahlee (Molalla, OR) offer 1st–12th graders an
array of activities including: archery, arts & crafts, hiking/backpacking,
nature study, and swimming.
Camp Namanu also offers high and low ropes courses, horseback riding, weaving, and whitewater rafting.
classic Club
A timeless tradition, Camp Fire Classic Club, offers a safe, friendly
place for boys and girls to work
together and play together. They hang out with friends their age, experience
the environment and outdoor skills, explore cool science experiments,
earn awards, go on fun field trips, make creative projects, play sports,
learn to make good choices, and get involved in service projects that
help them become responsible citizens.
Clubs usually meet each week and are led by two or more adults who have volunteered their time and skills. Meetings are held after school, in the evenings or on weekends and are organized so youth progress to more complex and challenging projects and activities as they get older.
School-based Youth Development
Camp Fire partners with many Multnomah and Washington County schools to
offer after-school and leadership programs that provide young people with
the skills and motivation they need to achieve milestones such as high
school graduation, higher education, meaningful employment and active
involvement in our communities. Youth gather up to four days per week
at their school for:
- Academic enrichment – Homework support,
tutoring, and mentoring. - Life-skills development – Communication,
problem solving, teamwork, conflict resolution. - Community and school service-learning.
- Fun! Group activities, camp overnights and more.
High schoolers gain and practice leadership skills by:
- Organizing and leading service-learning projects.
- Working as Camp Counselors-in-Training.
- Serving as Camp Fire Youth Board and Council Board members.
- Participating in myriad leadership opportunities such as Blazers Community Builders Youth Corps, Community 101, and Outward Bound Pinnacle Scholars.
Community Family Club
Community Family Club is a small group model designed for the whole family
– regardless of the make-up of that family. Families come together
once a month to share a meal and participate in a recognition ceremony
designed to recognize both individual and group accomplishments. The club
then breaks into age-level groups for an activity session led by a team
of volunteer parents. Once a month the group takes part in a field trip
on a topic related to the curriculum work, or takes part in a council-wide
event like a family campout. Once a month they are encouraged to meet
for an informal activity night to work on the curriculum or community
service projects. For the fourth week of the month they are given take-home
family activities which enhance the large group experience.
Community Family Clubs are flexible and designed to be delivered in four primary venues: schools, faith-based commu-nities, corporations and child care settings. These community partners work with Camp Fire USA to set specific goals and measurable objectives, provide sites and services and volunteers as needed.
Teen Pregnancy Prevention
& Teen Parenting
Baby Think It Over is a proven teen pregnancy prevention program that
uses life-like computerized baby dolls and curriculum to provide junior
and senior high school students with first-hand experience in the challenges
of parenting. In addition to parenting these “virtual babies”
for 24–72 hours, students delve into in-class and at-home lessons
that help them understand the financial, medical, emotional and social
implications of parenting.
The Teen Parent Program offers ongoing support services
to nearly 150 pregnant and parenting teens and their families in Clackamas
County each year. Professional staff work with parents to help them learn
positive parenting skills and more about child development, provide support
in coping with the stresses of parenting, share information about how
babies grow and learn, and help connect them to
community resources, including accessing health insurance and giving housing
referrals.
Get Involved
Invest in our future community leaders by getting involved in Camp Fire
today.
Register. Join a Camp Fire program in your area … and watch your child grow!
Volunteer. Volunteers who care about kids are crucial to the quality and availability of Camp Fire USA programs. Now, more than ever, our youth need adults serve as stable role models. Volunteers can:
- Provide homework help.
- Conduct skills workshops.
- Assist youth in coordinating community service projects.
- Become a Club leader.
- Mentor a child.
Contribute. Your generous
financial support helps us provide thriving programs that work, address
important youth issues, and continue to strengthen the community. There
are many ways you can make a donation, including gifts of cash/appreciated
securities, planned gifts, and in-kind goods
or services.
Everyone is welcome in Camp Fire USA, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, disability, sexual orientation or other aspect of diversity. We are inclusive and open to every person in each community we serve.
- 75% of Portland Metro youth say adults don’t listen to them or feel they are important.
- 30% of Oregon school-aged youth are unsupervised after school. Unsupervised youth get poorer grades and are more likely to drop out of school, don’t develop good academic and work habits or social skills, and are more likely to engage in risky behaviors like smoking and alcohol abuse.
- More crimes are committed by and against youth during after-school hours than during any other time of day. 86% of nationally polled police chiefs agree that expanding after-school programs will greatly reduce youth crime and violence.
To contribute or learn more please contact:
Mt. Hood Council
(Clackamas and Clark Counties)
Jessika Allen, Development Director
5427 Glen Echo Avenue
Gladstone, Oregon 97027
503.656.2530 x42 — www.campfireusamthood.org
Portland Metro Council
(Multnomah and Washington Counties)
Liz MacDonell, Director of Development & Marketing
619 SW 11th Ave., Suite 200
Portland, OR 97205
503.224.7800 — www.portlandcampfire.org