A place to come together as a community to fight for what we believe in
Last week, we hosted our fourth annual Summer Social Justice Camp in Chittenden county. We worked with four youth organizers throughout the year teaching them how to apply for grants, order food, send emails, create a budget, design curriculum, and many of the other tasks involved in running a day camp. Hue, Ace, Alannah, and Olivia planned and then facilitated the five-day camp for 20 middle and high school students.
The Chittenden county camp focused on a different topic each day:
Day 1: Immigration Justice
Day 2: Bullying and Harassment in Schools
Day 3: Trans Rights & Intersectionality
Day 4: Genocide
Day 5: Youth Organizing & Navigating Power
Guest speakers were Arena from the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network, Kate from the Coalition for Palestinian Liberation, Delanté Keys and Gina Stevensen of Collective Breath, Erok (local activist and artist), Tessie Sakai (local educator), and Andre Redmond (a youth organizer in our Narratives for Change group).
Participants wrote poetry after learning about genocide, wrote and performed skits about bullying, did matching activities to learn about genocide and reproductive rights, and painted cardboard butterflies that’ll be used in immigration justice protests. They also co-created agreements, analyzed power in schools, and discussed the news headlines of the day and how they related to social justice. At the end of camp, we held a showcase inviting caregivers, educators, and community members into the learning.
Here is what some of the participants shared about their experience:
“Camp is a great place to go if you’re feeling out of place in normal life because it makes you feel valued and appreciated. [It’s a] very good place to learn how to better yourself and also better others.”
“The food is great, you meet new amazing people and you learn more about the world that you might not know about.”
“SSJC is a place for self-discovery and to come together as a community to fight for what we believe in.”
A huge thank you to the Dad Guild for cooking lunch for us one day! We also supported local BIPOC-businesses Country Road Jamaican Flair, MooNoit Market, Sarom’s Cafe, and Doña Esa by ordering lunch from them. Many volunteers help drive participants to camp including JFunke, Tessie, Jenna, Shane, and Charlie. Thank you to Vermont Humanities for supporting this camp! And thank you Outright Vermont for letting us use your space!
Addison County
We worked with youth organizer, Rafaela Botti, and the Teen Center to host a camp in Middlebury. Addie Lentzner, Co-Executive Director of the Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network, also supported the planning and facilitation of the camp. There were 9 participants in the camp. They covered topics like immigration justice and statewide policy. They heard from many guest speakers including the Winooski superintendent Wilmer Chavarria, Office of Racial Equity, Human Rights Commission, and Migrant Justice. They also took a field trip to the Henry Sheldon Museum. This camp was supported by Vermont Humanities.
Windham County
We partnered with Youth 4 Change and the Root Social Justice Center to host a camp in Brattleboro. Kayla from EdJ worked with Outright youth organizer, Dakota, to lead a workshop on wealth and immigration justice. They also covered topics like anti-racism, financial empowerment, theater, and rasa theory with guest speaker, Shrijani who zoomed in from India. Other guest speakers were Sha’an Mouliert and Ana Meija. and They also took a field trip to SUSU CommUNITY Farm. There were 7 participants in the camp. This camp was supported by the Prevention Lead Region 4.
