What is Camp Ten Trees?
Camp Ten Trees is a nonprofit organization located in Washington State. Central to the organization's purpose are our yearly summer camp sessions -- one week for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and their allies and another week for the children of LGBTQ and/or non-traditional families. Camp Ten Trees is a place for diverse youth who share common experiences to come together and form a community that is truly their own. In addition to typical camp activities, campers engage in age-appropriate workshops exploring identity, community, diversity, homophobia, youth coalition building, and more.Camp Ten Trees is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organiztion (EIN 01-0923793). Donations to the organization are deductible to the extent permited by law. Donations, grants, and other contributions allow Camp Ten Trees to maintain accessibility, high-quality programming, and low costs for children, youth, and their families.
Camp Ten Trees was founded in 2000 by four Co-Directors and offered its first summer camp session in August 2001, serving just 20 campers. Since that time, we have served hundreds of campers from throughout the United States and beyond. Camp Ten Trees was one of the first of its kind in the world and still offers the Pacific Northwest's only residential summer camp sessions for children and youth of LGBTQ communities.
our Mission
Camp Ten Trees creates a loving and engaging youth camp environment for LGBTQ communities and their allies. our Values
Courage, Health, Inclusion, Play, Stewardship, Family, Acceptance, Integrity, and Leadership.
our Commitment to social Justice
Camp Ten Trees is committed to ending homophobia and gender variant phobia by addressing, through a Social Justice lens, the interconnected issues of oppression and privilege that foster inequality and thrive on keeping people divided. Social Justice includes full and equal participation of all groups in our community, where individuals are safe, self-determining and interdependent. We hold each other accountable with regard to all issues of equality, accomplished through education and advocacy. Social Justice is not an outcome, but an ongoing and evaluative process. our people
Our campers are some amazing people, children and youth who come together to build a community that is truly their own. They come to Camp Ten Trees from the Seattle area, the greater Pacific Northwest region, throughout the United States, and beyond.! Sharing a connection to LGBTQ communities, they also bring a diversity of interests and experiences to contribute to the "home away from home" that is Camp!Camp Ten Trees depends on 65+ volunteer staff during each summer camp session. After an extensive application and training process, volunteers pool their diverse experiences and skills --drawn from teaching, social work, community organizing, business, law, parenting, health care, etc.-- to cultivate an enriching camp community.
A year-round volunteer program offers opportunities for those interested in contributing to the ongoing programming, outreach, and infrustructure-building efforts that sustain the organization and make the summer camp program possible. These volunteers plan events, prepare for summer camp, spread the word of Camp Ten Trees, and keep campers and their loved ones connected to each other and the organization.
Two paid staff serve Camp Ten Trees. A seasonal Summer Camp Director oversees the design of the summer camp sessions and the the training and supervision of the Volunteer Summer Staff. A year-round Executive Director provides overall stewardship of the organization - coordinating volunteers in ongoing programming, outreach, and administration and working with the Board on fundraising and governance.
The board of directors provides a strong foundation for the organization's work. The board embodies the Camp Ten Trees' Mission, Values, and Commitment to Social Justice in all its endeavors, from governance to fundraising, and board members serve as ambassadors for the organization and its programming.
a day At summer Camp
At camp, our activities are designed to empower campers through play in order to enhance self-esteem, life skills, independence, leadership, and self-confidence. We provide a mixture of unit activities, all-camp activities, and individual choice activities, allowing campers to strengthen old skills and develop new ones in a structured outdoor setting. Our specialty areas (waterfront and archery) are directed by nationally certified instructors. We offer arts & crafts, boating, swimming, creative writing, cartooning, dancing, nature walks, low ropes challenge, archery, discussions, music, sports, youth organizing, and much more! Learn more on our camp registration page.
The Counselor In Training (CIT) Program is designed for 16-17 year old campers who are interested in practicing leadership, being a role model while at camp, and working on skills needed to be a successful staff member. This program is designed for both LGBTQA youth as well as youth of LGBTQ families. Campers in this program have the opportunity to shadow staff, help facilitate activities, and spend time with cabins to see what happens 'behind the scenes' of a counselor's job. CIT campers also bond as a cabin group through traditional camp programming such as swimming, arts & crafts, and boating. 16-17 year old youth interested in challenging themselves in a safe, fun atmosphere can find CIT application materials on our camp registration page.