Camp Joy Foundation
10117 Old 3-C Highway, P.O. Box 417
Clarksville, OH 45113
Camp Joy Restart- Bringing Kids Back to Camp
Support from the Dater Foundation will help ensure that at-risk youth, many of whom have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, can reconnect with one another and be restored by these upcoming programs. Camp Joy will deliver camp, outdoor education, and leadership programs for at-risk youth. Funds will help to cover the costs of overnight accommodations, food, transportation, and program delivery for youth who otherwise would not be able to afford these experiences. Camp Joy will be taking extra precautions to ensure that participants and staff are safe while on-site with masks, sanitizer, social distancing, and other measures recommended by health professionals.Program Goals:
Provide economically challenged children with the opportunity to participate in outdoor activities with positive role models.
Provide opportunities for these vulnerable kids to become inspired to believe in themselves, reconnect with others, and help them heal.
Provide opportunities for youth to develop greater self-esteem, problem-solving skills, and leadership skills.
Provide opportunities for youth to gain positive adult role models who can serve as mentors.
Provide opportunities for youth to build social/emotional/behavioral competencies that they can use to help with positive decision-making both in school and in later life.
Program Results:
Camp Joy is committed to ensuring the effectiveness and impact of this program and understands the importance of rigorous evaluation to continuously improve and maximize positive outcomes for every student.
To measure program results, Camp Joy implemented a new pre- and post-survey process conducted by a third party called Hello Insight. Through Hello Insight surveys, Camp Joy tracked the baseline starting point of each camper. They were categorized as “emerging” or “advanced” in their capacity for each of the social-emotional learning categories listed below. Capacities refer to the outcomes developed during activities, programs, and interventions. The term “capacity” is used because it describes a young person’s ability and potential rather than an end-state. Camp Joy believes that young people are constantly growing and evolving!
Through Hello Insight, Camp Joy measured the following:
- Self-Management
- Academic Self-Efficacy
- Positive Identity
- Social Skills
- Desire to Contribute
- Connection to the Outdoors
- Well-Being in the Outdoors
- Support for the Environment
These capacities are critical to young people's development and promote long-term academic gains, college and career success, and overall thriving. Following Camp Joy programming, campers were given surveys to determine their capacity increases in each category. The surveys additionally produced further breakdowns in each social-emotional learning (SEL) category.
2023 UNDERSERVED CAMPER EVALUATION RESULTS ... Surveyed underserved campers increased their core social-emotional learning capacities as follows:
71% of campers grew in their capacity to engage with and contribute to family, community, and society.
76% of campers grew in their ability to regulate their emotions and behavior, take positive risks, and persist through life’s challenges.
59% of campers grew in their internal sense of who they are and confidence to explore the multiple facets of their identities.
71% of campers grew in their motivation and perceived mastery over their own learning, school performance, and potential to attain academic success.
71% of campers grew in their ability to take others’ perspectives into account, and to develop a sense of caring and empathy.
69% of campers increased their feeling that their physical and mental wellness is enhanced by being in nature or the outdoors.
82% of campers increased their bond with nature or the outdoors.
71% of campers grew in their concern for environmental problems and their desire to be part of the solution.
Furthermore, evaluation data from surveyed campers demonstrated that:
100% of campers felt that counselors took the time to really understand them and their lives outside the program.
94% of campers reported that they had an opportunity to work together with other youth and help one another, creating a sense of team/group identity.
100% of campers reported trying something new they had never done before and that they were encouraged to take a risk and try something new, even when it seemed difficult to do.
94% of campers reported they were encouraged to work through difficult problems.
88% of campers reported they were frequently reminded that Camp Joy staff believed in them and their ability to succeed.
82% of campers felt supported to reflect on their progress toward goals.
94% of campers felt that they were given opportunities to make choices and have a voice.
82% of campers reported collaborating with peers to develop group agreements for how to work together.
88% of campers reported they found the outdoor activities at Camp Joy interesting and meaningful.
82% of campers reported that they had a new outdoor experience for the first time at Camp Joy.
88% of campers reported they were engaged in the learning style they preferred.
94% of campers were satisfied with the program experience!
Website:
http://www.camp-joy.org Amount: $30,000
Date: July 2023
