Our Programs
A Day in the Life of a Camp Fire Kid
Consider Henry: He’s eight-years-old, Hispanic and lives in a run-down rental house with his three siblings and his mom who makes $15,000 a year as a hospital aide. Before Camp Fire started a program at his school, Henry would usually hang around the playground after school until the security guard shooed him off. Today, he has a place he can count on…a club he belongs to…a purpose to strive for…
By the time the last bell rings, Henry’s stomach is grumbling. In the gym where Camp Fire meets, he gets his snack – a yogurt-cereal bar, an orange and chocolate milk. There are days, usually at the end of the month, when this is the last food he’ll get all evening.
Joe, the Camp Fire coordinator who has known Henry for a year, asks him about next Tuesday’s math test. Joe is working on his master’s degree in social work and has extensive experience working with at-risk kids. All Henry knows is that Joe is like a big brother to him. Together, they crack the books, working on long division – Henry’s least favorite topic besides dental hygiene.
With homework tackled, all the kids break up into small groups for their “self-reliance” activity. Today, they get to role-play different fights and figure out ways to solve them peacefully. It’s called “conflict resolution,” and Henry likes it a whole lot better than using his fists.
The kids then head outside where they play dodge ball. Good thing Camp Fire had brought the new coats, hats and mittens for all the kids earlier in the winter. Already, it’s 5:30, and Henry’s mom has come to pick him and his sisters up. “See you tomorrow!” Henry hollers to his Camp Fire friends and heads for home.
Henry’s story is not dramatic, but this is the point of Camp Fire – to provide the consistency, security and nurturing that every child needs and deserves in order to learn – both in and beyond the classroom.
Camp Fire USA’s programs are curriculum and outcome-based. In the metropolitan Omaha area, we offer:
Education Programs For Elementary School Children
Camp Fire recognizes that “out of school time“ – those unsupervised hours after school and throughout the summer – poses a vulnerable time for many children. We offer a spectrum of non-traditional learning opportunities for kids during those periods when they might otherwise be home alone playing video games or on the streets. Partnering with ten area elementary schools, Camp Fire helps integrate and strengthen relationships between school staff, parents and children, while supporting each school’s academic goals.
Committed to including all kids around the “camp fire,” we also serve children living at homeless shelters. Managed by master-level staff, our shelter programs create a sense of belonging, continuity and nurturing for children in an otherwise chaotic situation.
Through our nine elementary school-based and four shelter-based programs, Camp Fire:
- Fosters each child’s unique academic, social and emotional development;
- Provides a safe, structured learning environment;
- Presents children with positive role models;
- Introduces an ethic of community service and civic leadership;
- Offers a healthy snack and physical fitness activities.
Education Programs For Teens
Today’s teen faces a complex world of drugs and alcohol; violence in the media, at home and on the streets; fast food and unhealthy habits; and most of all, a lack of purpose. Through our school-based programs, Camp Fire equips teens with the skills and an ethic of responsible choice necessary to succeed academically, socially and emotionally, while at the same time having an awesome time!
Through our six middle and high school-based programs, Camp Fire:
- Provides a sense of belonging, structure and purpose for teens;
- Offers academic support and career development through tutoring, college prep, occupational field trips and speakers;
- Inspires a lifelong commitment to service and leadership;
- Promotes healthy lifestyles through nutrition, recreation and physical fitness; and
- Addresses issues that are important to today’s teen such as peer relations, conflict resolution, drugs and alcohol prevention.
Nutrition and Fitness Programs
Kid’s Cafe, a program of America’s Second Harvest and ConAgra’s Feeding Children Better Foundation, is the nation’s largest charitable meal service and nutrition education program exclusively for kids. Children attending Gomez Heritage are encouraged to stay for the daily meal which is prepared and served by Camp Fire volunteers.
Snack Pack is a unique program that addresses a very real problem in our community: child hunger. Camp Fire recognizes that kids cannot learn when their stomachs are aching and they’re worried about when the next meal will come. Through our Snack Pack program, children receive backpacks filled with healthy, child-friendly food on Fridays so that they will have food through the weekend. The program is almost entirely volunteer-operated.
Club Possible is a program that educates area families on healthy living through a three-pronged approach. Camp Fire staff teach children the importance of physical activity and good nutrition. Staff members then help parents learn how to budget, shop for and prepare healthy foods. At a monthly family night, professional chefs demonstrate ways to create nutritious, delicious, affordable meals. Club Possible is a partnership between Camp Fire USA, Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, Girl Scouts and Visiting Nurses and is funded through a grant from the Alegent Community Benefit Trust.
Prevention Education Programs
Today’s culture assails kids with complex decisions and potentially dangerous situations. Using professional actor-educators, our interactive prevention education programs address such issues child sexual abuse, Internet safety and peer pressure. Camp Fire offers innovative educational opportunities for kids, parents and educators at elementary schools throughout the greater Omaha community.
- The Bubbylonian Encounter or BUB is a laugh-out-loud, yet thoughtful play which gives an age-appropriate voice to the critical issue of child sexual abuse. Through Bub, our actor-educators teach 1st – 3rd graders how to recognize, resist and report child exploitation. Join us as Bub, the alien, learns about positive, negative, confusing or forced sexual touch.
- The Adventures of Natalie the Net Nanny is a play that brings life to a critical issue of Internet safety, including cyber-bullies, sexual predators, hackers and scam artists. Join us as Natalie, the Net Nanny, guides 4th – 6th graders on navigating the World Wide Web from chat rooms to instant messaging to popular networking sites like Myspace.
- I’m Peer Proof is a 3-6 week classroom program that teaches 4th – 6th graders how to handle peer pressure and make positive, responsible choices.
For more information on Camp Fire USA and our programs, please contact us at 402-397-5809 or at www.campfireomaha.org.
