A: Camp Fire is a youth development organization that fulfills its Promise to the community through youth centered and family focused programs and has done so since being founded in Fort Worth in 1914. From the early days of Blue Birds and Camp Fire Girls, the organization has grown into one of the largest councils in the United States with programs for boys and girls that include everything from camping to school readiness.
A: Camp Fire has a Promise –

OUR PROMISE
Young people want to shape the world.

Camp Fire provides the opportunity to find their spark, lift their voice, and discover who they are. In Camp Fire, it begins now.

Light the fire within

A: Camp Fire First Texas serves over 22,000 participants annually. Camp Fire serves over 300,000 national participants annually.
A: Camp Fire First Texas provides services for children and youth from age six weeks to 21.

A: WoHeLo is a 100+ year old watchword of the Camp Fire organization derived of the first two letters of the three words:

Work, Health & Love. These concepts provided the cornerstone of the organization’s philosophy then and while the program look different , the core values and impact areas remain the same.

A: Camp Fire First Texas has three social impact areas – Work, Health and Love (WoHeLo).

WOrk – Encourage volunteerism, service learning and citizenship

HEalth – Develop the health and well-being of the “whole child” including physical, cognitive and social/emotional health

LOve – Foster a love of the outdoors and environmental stewardship

Through these impact areas, Camp Fire provides the children, youth, families and child care providers the opportunities to explore their sparks, learn to make healthy choices, build new skills and chart a course for success that will carry through the rest of their lives and positively impact their communities.

A: Camp Fire helps youth look inside themselves to discover their “sparks,” allows them to personally define their areas of potential.
Helping a young person become who they want to be takes time and encouragement. It takes paying attention to what sparks a passion. At Camp Fire, that’s what we do. We listen, we encourage, and we provide the opportunity to uncover and nurture each young person’s unique interests. We help youth become the exceptional people they are destined to be, buoyant with potential to do anything they dream of doing.

Camp Fire is led by professional, caring adults using proven methods. Leaders are highly trained role models, who encourage young people to be all they can be.

Camp Fire is open to everyone. We embrace the uniqueness of every youth, teen, and family we serve.

Camp Fire is participant-centered—identifying passions and sparks. Youth are actively engaged and are given a voice, which helps build self-esteem and self-reliance.

Camp Fire helps develop abilities now. We provide a strong foundation for kids so that they prepare for the present and the future.

A: As one of the nation’s leading youth development organizations, Camp Fire takes pride in its long-standing commitment to providing programs and services to all youth and families.

Camp Fire’s Statement of Inclusion:
Camp Fire believes in the dignity and the intrinsic worth of every human being. We welcome, affirm, and support young people and adults of all abilities and disabilities, experiences, races, ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, religion and non-religion, citizenship and immigration status, and any other category people use to define themselves or others. We strive to create safe and inclusive environments that celebrate diversity and foster positive relationships.

A: There are currently 70 Camp Fire councils and community partners serving communities across the United States.
A: Camp Fire programming allows participants to explore their sparks, learn to make healthy choices, develop social skills, build new talents and have fun. Our goal is to provide youth with opportunities to cultivate their inner passions, skills and attributes (or “Sparks”) to stimulate Thriving – a forward, purposeful motion toward achieving one’s full potential.
A: Camp Fire First Texas is chartered to serves Tarrant, Denton, Parker, Johnson, Hood and Wise counties. Many of the programs the organization provides extend beyond our service region to include a number of North Texas communities.

A: Yes, Camp Fire was founded in 1910 as an organization for girls and young women. At that time, few organizations for girls existed. But as society’s values changed, Camp Fire realized there were many benefits to making the organization even more inclusive. The organization officially became coeducational in 1975.

Today, Camp Fire brings boys and girls together through one organization, where they learn to play together, work together, and appreciate their similarities and differences in positive ways. They understand that people from either gender can be their teachers, coworkers, supervisors, confidantes, coaches, and friends. For families, Camp Fire’s coed programs allow parents to consolidate schedules for both their daughters and their sons. Our current membership is almost equally divided between boys and girls.

While we appreciate and honor our past, as culture has evolved, so has Camp Fire.

A: Camp Fire is honored to be the first national youth development organization in the United States to implement the methodology for thriving developed by the Thrive Foundation for Youth (www.thrivefoundation.org). The Foundation is a true leader in researching and advocating methods that tap into young people’s aspirations and help them achieve their full potential.

Camp Fire has always been actively engaged in the work advocated by Thrive—helping youth discover their skills, passions, and attributes to stimulate personal growth (referred to as the “science of thriving”).

A: The Wohelo Award is the highest achievement for youth in Camp Fire. This prestigious award, for teens in grades 9 through 12, offers opportunities for personal development, leadership, and advocacy on important issues.

The award is earned by completing an intensive and highly individualized project. Teens design their own individual projects based on their interests, values, and goals. Completing the requirements to earn the Wohelo Award takes hard work, dedication, motivation, creativity, determination, and discipline. However, Wohelo Award recipients tell us it is the most rewarding experience Camp Fire youth will ever have.

A: Camp Fire has a number of programs for families and youth to get involved. Please refer to our OverviewVolunteer and our Youth sections of the site.

A: At this time membership is not a requirement to be involved in a Camp Fire program. We welcome anyone in the community to participate in our programs and event.

A: At this time we are building interest in re-kindling the club-based program. If you are interested in the traditional Camp Fire club program and would like information concerning availability please contact us.

A: Camp Fire alumni consist of all past club members, all former Camp El Tesoro campers, all former day campers, all past board members, former staff and volunteers. If you would like to register as an alumni, fill out our online form.

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