The primary goal of the Army Reserve Enrichment Camps is to provide a fun and rewarding experience for Army Reserve youth ages 8-15 years. We have developed a partnership with accredited camps and national youth organizations to make this unique opportunity possible.

Army Reserve Enrichment Camps will:
(1) Foster relationships between AR-connected youth
(2) Create leadership and teambuilding opportunities at a local level
(2) Connect military Families with premiere youth development organizations
(3) Equip youth with the skills necessary to effectively cope with deployment of a parent and increase resiliency
(4) Afford campers an opportunity to reap the intrinsic rewards of community service
(5) Offer a wide range of diverse, interesting, and skill-building activities
(6) Create a program that can be self-sustaining and not dependent on parent’s deployments status

This year’s AR CYSS Enrichment Camps will be held for one-week at each of the following locations:
Tulsa, OK, Loretto, MN, Princeton, IN, Huguenot, NY, Boulder Creek, CA, Julian, CA, Sandwich, MA, Alpine, AL, King, NC, Trinity, TX, Jamesville, VA, Danielsville, GA, Oahu, HI, Graford, TX, Saipan, Port Murray, NJ, and Centerville, MD.

Each site will host 30-100 campers from the surrounding region. Campers will have the opportunity to interact with other Army Reserve connected youth, learn about the unique factors associated with being an Army Reserve dependent and most of all, and have fun! Ages and dates vary by location. Please read below for all the details and to register. Space will fill quickly!

Camp activities such as ropes courses, boating, fishing, horse-back riding, and archery in conjunction with the unique factor of cooperative living offers an ideal youth development setting.  Activities are designed to challenge and support youth in such a way that skills like independence, leadership, and peer relationships emerge. A common term used with regard to Military Families is resilience: “…the capacity to spring back, rebound, successfully adapt in the face of adversity, and develop social and academic competence despite exposure to severe stress.”  

Army Reserve Child, Youth and School Services recognizes the importance of providing meaningful opportunities for participation that translates into resilient youth. It seems summer camp is a proven and enjoyable way to foster that self-righting skill so imperative to military life. Campers will be housed in safe, secure settings and given time to relate with their peers, all while having fun.

The Army Reserve CYSS team will work directly with the Public Affairs Offices, Family Program Directors and Coordinators, Family Program Assistants and other Army Reserve staff to promote this unique opportunity.

Check Out A Few Enrichment Camps From Last Year!

Check Out Past Camps in the Photo Gallery. 

Check out the video of the Erichment Camp in Salem, WI in 2007.

For more information on finding military related camp opportunities please visit:
www.arfp.org/cys
www.operationpurple.org
www.operationmiltarykids.org


Things to look for when choosing a summer camp:
• Low staff to camper ratio
• Staff trained in drawing on strengths of campers
• Youth-centered: youth involved in decision making
• Multiplicity of opportunities for challenge and success
• Staff that value safety
• American Camping Association (ACA) Accreditation or similar