ACCESS, CONNECTION & COMMUNITY
Importance
The Camping & Education Foundation and all of its entities understand and respect its obligation to evolve its beliefs, values, and traditions in ways that keep us centered on new understandings and values of our society. With this in mind, we have examined our programs and are charting new initiatives to grow in our intentions and actions related to access to our programs, and then, participants’ connection to our community.
The missions of the Foundation and our programs refer to developing young men and women through transformational wilderness experiences that celebrate a love of the outdoors. We also believe our programs develop good citizens, a sense of community and strong leaders. The Law of the Woods encapsulates our values related to beauty, truth, fortitude and love. They articulate the expectations of being strong, speaking true, playing fair, being kind, being helpful and honoring a greater spirit.
If we are to honor our mission and values and serve the wider community we must broaden opportunities for a diverse population of participants, staff, and leadership to successfully live, work and interact together. Living, working and interacting with a diverse group of others helps us appreciate each other’s gifts and makes us all better team and community members.
GOALS
Access—Our programs should be accessible to participants no matter their background, experience and the identity that youth and adults bring, including race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, genetic information, sexual orientation, faith tradition, etc.
Connection and Community—How we operate should ensure that all youth and adults are provided the opportunity to participate and experience a sense of worth, welcome, and belonging.
ACTIVITES
Engage in activities and training to build inclusive leadership and ensure that the camp community understands and supports the importance and nature of our approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Actively identify and pursue opportunities to develop a more diverse population of participants, staff, leadership, and board members to live, work and interact together.
Actively identify and pursue opportunities to ensure equity and inclusion are hallmarks of our in-camp, tripping, and school-year programs.
Develop measurable outcomes to assess and track ongoing progress related to our goals and expectations.