Girl Experts Bring the Magic of Self-Efficacy and Community to our Summer CAMP
CAMP makes its return for the Summer of 2022
CAMP is our week-long day camp that helps 3rd-8th grade girls increase their self-efficacy—their belief in their ability to succeed. We hosted our first week of CAMP in June with the theme of “Creating Community”. During this week of CAMP, we focused on creating connection between campers and strengthening campers’ ability to work and communicate with one another by learning valuable skills on how to be a good friend, deal with the hardships of friendships, and build better relationships with others. In July, we hosted our second week of CAMP with the new theme, “Owning your Story”. This last week of CAMP focused on strengthening campers' ability to explore and communicate their values and identity. Campers spent the week exploring leadership, self-compassion, and parts of their identity to uncover what makes them unique. Our dedicated staff prioritized making the CAMP experience magical and fun for every camper!
Creating Community was the theme of Week 1 of CAMP
CAMP Participants make friends and learn to work as a team
CAMP is a wonderful way for girls to pack a semester’s worth of Girl Connect curriculum into one week! Not only are girls learning about self-compassion, healthy friendships, and their values and identity, but they also get to make new friends. Campers are split up and assigned to teams at the beginning of camp. At first, this can be scary or nerve-wracking for girls, but by the end of the week campers are cheering for and engaged with each girl in their group. This was evident on Friday Field Day, during which teams competed in traditional relay games and had to work together in order to win. The lovely and excited Orange Team won the day, but everyone left Field Day engaged and feeling like a team.
We are girls on the road makes a stop at CAMP with the Friend-SHIP!
Beyond some healthy competition and team rivalries — in the first week of camp, campers also learned about communication styles (passive, aggressive and assertive) and how it relates to their relationships. During We Are Girls On The Road, the entire camp worked to make an infamous FriendSHIP and illustrate what makes a friendship float and what makes a friendship sink. During the second week of camp, we learned the importance of self-compassion and being our own best friend while also learning what makes us who we are (identity). To round out each week of camp, a fabulous talent show was hosted and campers showed off their dance moves, drawing, comedy, magic and more! Campers leave camp with new friends, pudding dirt cups, and a better understanding of how to love themselves and remember that they are powerful every day.
Special Thanks to our Community Partners for igniting the power in girls this summer!
Special thanks to our Community Partners, Austin Humane Society and DPR Construction, for joining us at CAMP to provide our participants with unique workshops and activities. We are truly more powerful when we are working together to ignite the power in girls!
Mallory Lehenbauer is a Program Coordinator for Girls Empowerment Network in Central Texas. Mallory loves how Girls Empowerment Network is not just about the messaging and idea of empowering girls, but giving girls the tools to create self-efficacy. She shares “ I feel honored to be a part of an organization founded by women and created to instill confidence and empowerment into the women of our future.”