District 202, GLBTQ Online High School and One Heartland have joined to offer a traditional summer camp experience for youth and young adults ages 13-21 who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning their gender or sexuality (GLBTQ) called QAMP!. This seven-day program will run from July 25-31, 2010 at Camp Heartland in Willow River, Minnesota, which is 90 minutes north of the Twin Cities.
QAMP! will be open to GLBTQ youth nationwide and include traditional camp activities like canoeing, camping, a climbing wall, swimming, and campfires.
Camp Heartland’s birch and pine covered hills, three lakes and other facilities offer up to 130 youth exposure to nature, access to programming and a unique welcoming community setting of their peers that’s free of harassment. One Heartland is a fully accredited camp program that has served kids and families since 1993.
“Summer camp can a life-changing experience for all youth,” said David Glick, Executive Director of the GLBTQ Online High School. “Unfortunately, the harassment and isolation that many GLBTQ youth experience in schools often can follow them to camp. That’s obviously not acceptable, and that’s what inspired us to create QAMP!”
“Many GLBTQ youth are deprived of their own community and nature, in general, especially in our urban cores,” said Curt Prins, Executive Director of District 202. “QAMP! will bring together GLBTQ youth from around the country and create this wonderfully unique community of youth where they can be themselves with their peers without fear.”
Registration opens Monday, January 21, 2010 and will remain open until April 5, 2010 or until all spaces are filled. Full and partial scholarship will be available for youth and families with financial need. Visit www.qamp.mn for more information.
