The 2020-2021 program year presented challenges, but also new opportunities. In this blog post, we’ll feature a few ways Camp Fire youth in our Community Programs stayed connected during COVID-19!
By the Numbers
- Four new council-led virtual groups met from September through June.
- All-in-all, Community Programs staff led approximately 120 virtual calls with youth and teens over the past year!
- Camp Fire staff created 45 new pieces of freely available at-home curriculum.
- In our Candy Sale, we sold 500 bags of Campfire Coffee and about 40,000 boxes of Creamy Smooth Mint Patties at local Bartell Drugs stores. A big thanks to both of our partners!
Youth Programs
Project Wayfinder
Camp Fire staff piloted a new set of curriculum from Project Wayfinder, designed for middle school and high school students. Two dedicated groups, one comprised of middle schoolers and the other of high schoolers, gathered bi-weekly in virtual meetings over the course of 8 months. Together, we dove deep into the concepts of purpose and belonging. We did a lot of processing through the creation of digital art, so enjoy some of the groups’ masterpieces below. Environmental sustainability was a major focus of our middle school group who would like to remind you to “recycle and ride your bicycle.” Thank you to everyone who participated in this program!
Group Program
Many groups continued to meet in a socially-distanced manner over the 2020-2021 program year by going on short hikes, conducting service projects, virtually caroling, visiting gardens, picking pumpkins, and more!
In addition to traditional volunteer-led groups, we opened a series of staff-led virtual groups this year. In our small groups, we played games such as Bingo and Camouflage, did paper arts and crafts relating to the National Art Experience, and completed lessons pertaining to all five of the Camp Fire trails. Our virtual participants introduced us to all of their pets, took the initiative to earn emblems outside of group calls, and were true Zoom experts!
Candy Sale
The annual Camp Fire Candy Sale went on in a hybrid format. Many groups sold using online sales pages, which were quite the hit! To celebrate everyone’s success this sale, Group Program had its first in-person celebration of 2021 at Camp Sealth in May. The weather was on our side, so it was a sunny day filled with archery, games, arts and crafts, delicious food, and the most amazing people. Congratulations to all of our candy sellers!
Get Involved
If you would like to learn more about Community Programs offerings for the upcoming school year, please read on by following the link button below. Also feel free to contact Ali Fuller, Community Programs Manager, at alif@campfireseattle.org. Thank you!