Good works around the Camp Fire

This time of year, the parade of nonprofit fundraising breakfasts and luncheons can seem like one endless hard sale.

But it is instructive — and helpful to an organization's bottom line — to attend some of them. I recently attended Camp Fire USA's 17th Annual Leadership Breakfast and gained an appreciation of how the nearly century-old youth organization has evolved.

Jessica is Exhibit A. She was a Camp Fire Girl in her youth. Then her family fell apart, she dropped out of school and, at 16, ran away from home. Too young to live on her own, too old to attract the attention of Child Protective Services, Jessica was vulnerable to falling into the life of drugs and drinking.

An adult she knew from Camp Fire asked her to attend Special Sitters training where teens are trained to work with developmentally disabled kids. Jessica wasn't excited about working with children, particularly those who were disabled. But something clicked. Now a college-educated young woman, she works professionally with autistic children.

What if, Jessica said on the phone, she hadn't had the opportunity to work with Camp Fire's special-needs children?

"Without Camp Fire I never would have gone back to school and studied special education and found my love of working with children."

Credit the strength and resolve of one young woman. Credit also Camp Fire's large role in shaping young lives one fun activity at a time.

"We forget how important these things are for kids," Jessica says. "The schools' role is to educate and families often don't have the resources to go beyond that, so Camp Fire is a way kids get leadership opportunities and can build relationships."

As the school year winds to a close, Camp Fire is a valued resource for day camps and overnight expeditions. Camps are a defining experience for children and parents appreciate the summertime respite.

Jessica looms as an example of how Camp Fire's efforts go beyond summer night singalongs. They drop life preservers. In this year, some 16,000 young people around the Puget Sound region will reach out and grab hold.

— Lynne K. Varner