By Sofia Pablo-Hoshino | Development Coordinator
Hidden Villa Summer Camp is known to bring diverse campers together to enjoy all kinds of exciting activities on the farm and in our wilderness area. In the midst of song-singing, food-harvesting, or cow-milking, something profound happens between campers. But the experience ripples beyond the campers to the Summer Camp counselors. These young people are introduced to a toolkit of communication skills, curriculum development abilites and leadership opportunities. The way that camp is set-up allows campers to transition into Assistant Counselors in Training (ACT), and then on to serve as counselors. Seth and Keili are great examples of the way that Hidden Villa summer camp is creating leaders of all ages.
Kinder Camp is Hidden Villa's newest offering and engages the youngest generation of earth stewards in hands-on fun with the farm and the natural world. Seth is the perfect fit for guiding leaders of tomorrow as the Program Head for Kinder Camp. He brings 17 years of Hidden Villa summer camp experience as both a camper and counselor and knows how to boogie on down to a good camp song. Seth is also training new camp counselors and shaping the program to hold true to Hidden Villa Summer Camp values: environment, family, diversity, farm & food, and identity. “We believe that sharing these values will help encourage the cultivation of empathy. I’m excited to build the foundation for Kinder Camp and watch the kids come back year after year.”
Keili first came to Hidden Villa summer camp at the age of 8. She is now 22 and the Program Head for Residential Summer Camp. That kind of dedication has earned her the honored "lifer" title here at Hidden Villa.“HV Summer Camp always felt like home to me, and I loved that the counselors created a safe space for us to be ourselves. That is what inspired me to be a counselor and now the Program Head for Residential Camp. It makes me happy to know that my family is creating our own legacy here: I first came here on scholarship and now my parents donate to the scholarship fund to share this place. Plus, my two younger siblings are in Kinder Camp and Day Camp this summer.”
We're happy to have such great leaders on our summer camp staff team and we appreciate your support in collaborating with us to make it all possible.
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