Program
We offer girls activities throughout the year, including our summer program, Camp Sojourner, and monthly trips to local destinations to enjoy nature hikes, college tours, creative arts, and service projects. We also offer our weekly Teen Leadership Institute for returning teen campers. We have switched to online programming at various times during the pandemic, and have our in-person activities mostly outdoors and masked.
Camp Sojourner
Camp Sojourner is an overnight camp for girls/youth ages 8-18, with older teens working as junior counselors. Our camp program focuses on team building, leadership development, self-expression through creative arts, and appreciation of nature.
Activities at camp include: swimming, boating, hiking, team-building, campfires, archery, and creative arts such as singing, dancing, drawing, painting, drumming, acting, sewing, photography, and woodworking. We eat family style in a large dining hall, and sleep in modern wood cabins. We have COVID safety measures in place to mitigate the risk of transmission during camp, as conditions warrant year-to-year. Please see application materials for detailed description.
Year-Round Activities
We host activities year-round with girls of all ages, including our Teen Leadership Institute, College Prep Squad, Bartram’s Garden/Sankofa Community Farm, creative arts in partnership with Artwell, self-defense classes, college tours, and more. Many of our year-round activities take place at the Calvary Center for Community and Culture. Girls/youth who have been to camp can participate in these activities, as well as new girls/youth–our teen programs are for returning teens only.
Teen Leadership Institute
We believe that in order for young people to grow as leaders, they must be given authentic opportunities to act as leaders.
Our Teen Leadership Institute meets once a month and works together with Camp Sojourner staff to plan activities and projects for the rest of our camp community, while developing leadership skills such as public speaking, facilitation, and goal setting. TLI members also give key input on organizational programs and decisions.
Service
We believe that being a leader means both taking charge of your own life and working to make the world a better place. Each year our campers choose an area of focus and complete service projects related to those areas. Issues they have chosen include Food Justice, Immigration Justice, Gun Violence, Sexual Harassment, and Racial Profiling. Based on the focus topic campers want to work on, we partner with local groups to develop an action project that will help make a positive impact. For the past 11 years we have worked with Bartram’s Garden and Sankofa Farm to help build their community garden and farm to provide affordable chemical-free produce for Southwest Philly residents. We have also worked in partnership with Women Organized Against Rape (WOAR), Ceasefire PA, Black Lives Matter Philly, and other groups.