TRAIL BLAZER CAMPS INC
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. would you like to join their team?Profile owner : t****n@t**********s.o*g
Mission Statement
Through outdoor adventure-based experiential education, environmental education, and leadership programs, Trail Blazers facilitates the development of values and life skills essential for productive and conscientious citizenship in youth, in ages 4-21. Our portfolio of year-round and summer programs includes summer camp, after school, and workforce development, and are designed to help young people step into the world with skills and values that prepare them to thrive. We have organized these skills and traits into our “Four Pillars”: 1. Care for Self: 21st Century Skills (eg. initiative, responsibility, follow-through) & academic self-efficacy skills (eg. information seeking) 2. Care for Others: Social skills/values (eg. empathy, compassion, respect, conflict resolution, collaboration/teamwork) 3. Care for Community: Skills/values for caring on macroscopic scale and leaving a positive impact (eg. citizenship, leadership) 4. Care for Environment: Environmental science and stewardship literacy as well as outdoor skills Each year, we engage over 1800 young people from New York City's five boroughs and New Jersey. We believe that all young people deserve access to spaces where they can learn and grow, regardless of their family's financial ability. When you support our Scholarship Fund, you help us ensure that a family's lack of financial ability does not determine a child's access to essential learning and development opportunities. Trail Blazers has GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency and a 4-Star Ranking from Charity Navigator. Trail Blazers is also accredited by the Better Business Bureau and the American Camping Association.
About This Cause
In 1887, John Ames Mitchell, editor of Life magazine, raised $800 to send 266 underprivileged children from New York City to his Life Fresh Air Farm. The nation’s second oldest American Camping Association-accredited program evolved into present-day Trail Blazers, where we continue fulfilling our mission of developing the knowledge, values, and life skills essential for productive citizenship in young people through a portfolio of summer and year-round programs rooted in time-tested, research-based youth development methodologies, which are listed below. For 2020, we continue to modify and add to our portfolio of programs in response to the COVID pandemic and new needs. Examples include online programs as well Learning Bubbles to support children through this novel academic year. • Summer Outdoor Experiential Education Program – Overnight Camp: Children live for 14 or 28 days at our rustic Sussex County, NJ site, participating in an adventure-based educational program they design themselves in collaboration with their Group Leaders. Participants connect to and learn about nature, establish healthy habits, and develop essential life skills and values. • Summer Outdoor Experiential Education Program – Day Camp: Children who are too young for a sleepaway experience explore and connect to nature in their community while building life skills and environmental science knowledge in Prospect Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and Morningside Park. • Summer Leaders in Training (LIT) and the APEX Program: Teens participate in summer workshops to develop leadership skills, community engagement, and work experience by assisting/shadowing staff in various roles. Expanding on LIT, The APEX Program is our year-round teen leadership initiative aimed at creating a more diverse camp staff with years of experience at camp. The three-year program is for ages 16-18, with a focus on financially-underresourced teens from New York and New Jersey. It includes in-season staff training, off-season professional development retreats and social gatherings, year-round employment in our school-affiliated programs, and direct check-ins with APEX staff. • Internship: Teens ages 17-18 who have completed the Leaders in Training Program are invited to spend eight summer weeks developing life skills, college readiness, and career preparedness through focused workshops and a four-week intern position at our Summer Sleep Away Camp. • After-School: Year-round environmental science and urban stewardship workshops provide the context through which elementary school age students connect to their communities and establish the life skills, attitudes, and knowledge proven to contribute to success and achievement. • The ACADEMY: This year-round workforce development initiative engages young people ages 16-24 in workshops and real-world experiences that help them develop knowledge, skills, and networks securing employment and thriving in the workplace. Awards include the 2012 American Camp Association NY/NJ’s “Harold Breene Youth Education Award” for youth development and the 2006 Johns Hopkins Center’s “Excellence in Summer Learning Award” for stemming summer learning loss and helping to address the academic achievement gap in low-income youth. Honors include competitive state and city contracts in both New York (Break-Aways in 1998-2000, Supplemental Educational Services in 2001-2011) and New Jersey (DYFS’ Summer Intensive Life Skills Camps in 2012).