The smell of a campfire, with the soft sounds of the woods in the background, the feeling of community is strong. Katie Craft, the Program Director of Camp 4 All, strives for exactly that. Started by David Yuhaus and Katie Kraft, Camp 4 All’s goal was to provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth during summer camp, where they can be themselves and feel like they belong. The camp was part of a response to the 2016 presidential election,
“Me and my business partner decided that we needed to do something to counter the way that the political climate in the world was going,” Kraft said. “So this was our way of creating our safe little pocket of the world.”
With the growth of the camp, Kraft shared her goals for the camp this year.
“This year, this summer, I am hoping to spread the word about camp a little bit more.” Craft said. “We want to grow our numbers. Every year we’ve had more [and] more and more campers register than the summer before, so continuing that growth would be really important to us,”
As they reach their ninth year for Camp 4 All, former campers return to serve as camp counselors.
“So this year is the first year that I have a former camper applying to be on staff,” said Kraft. “And he reached out to me earlier this year, and he said, I know I haven’t been to camp in a while, I know I haven’t talked to you guys, but camp is changing my life. Camp has changed my life.”
After an interview, the team welcomed the former camper onto the staff.
Camp 4 All offers a variety of classic camp activities, such as swimming and archery, as well as workshops that could help campers learn about their identities and make new friends. The team’s hope is to be able to hold Camp 4 All nationwide for as many kids as possible. This year, the camp will be held in Bellefontaine, Ohio, from August 9th through August 15th, and in Three Rivers, Michigan, from August 11th through August 17th. Each campsite has room for 35 campers aged 10 to 18. You can register at Camp 4 All’s site, experientialink.org.
