Editing Camp Fire (organization) (section)

==Programs==
Camp Fire has nationally developed youth development programs that are delivered through local and statewide councils and community partners across the nation. Programs are specific to community needs and some may not be available in all communities. The five outcome-based program areas include: Small-Group Clubs and Mentoring Opportunities; Leadership Development; Camping and Environmental Education; Child Care; and Self-Reliance and Service–Learning Classes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Camp Fire USA Fact Sheet |url=http://www.apo.org/site/site_files/campfire_fact_sheet.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716055353/http://www.apo.org/site/site_files/campfire_fact_sheet.pdf |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |access-date=January 29, 2009 |publisher=Alpha Phi Omega |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===Small-group clubs===
In Small-Group Clubs and Mentoring Opportunities, boys and girls usually meet once a week for an hour, learning to work and play together through service projects.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NPO Spotlight&nbsp;– News |url=http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=166900021 |access-date=January 29, 2009 |publisher=Philanthropy News Digest}}</ref> Camp Fire has numerous youth-development programs that are delivered through local and statewide councils and community partners.

The program levels are:
* '''Little Stars''' is for children ages three through five, and provides parents and preschool youth with a program-driven playgroup that gives them the opportunity to learn, grow and play.
* '''Starflight''' is for boys and girls in kindergarten through second grade. The children meet regularly in adult-supervised clubs. Meeting activities focus on the outdoors, creativity, service, acquiring new skills, learning more about themselves, and getting along with others.
*'''Adventure''' is for boys and girls in third through fifth grade. Adventure members earn Action Crafts beads for the new things they do and the good habits they learn. At this level, youth begin to accept more responsibility for choosing and planning their club activities.
* '''Discovery''' is for sixth through eighth grades, giving young people an opportunity to explore new interesting fields. Club members do much of their own planning and decision making, with the adult leader functioning more as an advisor than a supervisor. This is when Camp Fire youth are eligible to make and wear ceremonial attire, often gowns or tunics, worn only at Camp Fire ceremonials.
* '''Horizon''' is for high school-age youth in grades nine through twelve. Members participate in self-guided programs geared toward preparing them for adult responsibilities and community service. Members may earn the WoHeLo Award.

===Awards===
Official national recognition items are one of Camp Fire's defining features, aimed to help children and adults build self-esteem and have pride in their accomplishments. For their participation, growth and achievements, youth receive items such as beads, emblems, pins, and certificates. At the early levels, Camp Fire leaders help youth choose activities and guide them in earning the recognition items. As teens, members select their own activities and develop their own action plans for earning recognition items. 

For adults, recognition items signify outstanding achievement or the number of years they have been adult Camp Fire USA members. Adults in programming or board positions are recognized on the local level for their important roles in Camp Fire.

====Beads====
Youth are able to earn beads while completing projects on the “Camp Fire Trails" as well as emblems. Previously, once the participants earned ten of one type of bead, they were awarded a larger one of the same type to represent the ten smaller ones. By 2006, there was one bead for each of the Camp Fire Trails.

'''Bead colors'''
* Red&nbsp;– Sports, Games & Science&nbsp;– Trail to the Future
* Brown&nbsp;– Outdoors & Environment&nbsp;– Trail to Environment
* Green&nbsp;– Creativity&nbsp;– Trail to Creativity
* Yellow&nbsp;– Business & Home&nbsp;– Trail to Family and Community
* Royal Blue – (formerly Citizenship,&nbsp;discontinued in 2003)
* Red, White & Blue – (formerly Citizenship, replaced with Royal Blue in 2003)&nbsp;
* Orange&nbsp;– (formerly Home Craft, discontinued in 2003)
* Turquoise&nbsp;– (formerly Science – Trail to Knowing Me, discontinued in 2003)
* Lime Green&nbsp;– Discovery level<ref>{{Cite web |last=Beard |first=Alice Marie |title=For One Camp Fire Bead |url=http://www.alicemariebeard.com/campfire/one-bead.htm |access-date=January 30, 2009}}</ref>
* Purple&nbsp;– (small beads) Special Projects

====WoHeLo Award====
Established in 1962, the WoHeLo Award is a medallion named for Camp Fire's watchword "WoHeLo". WoHeLo is derived from the words ''work'', ''health'', and ''love''. Each year, approximately 200 Camp Fire youth throughout the nation receive the WoHeLo Award. A member may apply for the award after completing four major long-term projects called Reflections, and three self-selected projects, called Advocacies, dealing with an area of concern of the youth member's choosing. The first must be to Camp Fire; the second cannot be to Camp Fire;<ref name="allboutus" /> and the third can either be in Camp Fire or outside of Camp Fire. Each of the three Advocacies must involve leading, teaching, serving, and speaking out. Many councils have removed the requirement that Advocacies must be completed to the Camp Fire program, citing that opportunities do not always exist for members enrolled in all areas of the country. The third requirement for a Camp Fire WoHeLo Award is to "know Camp Fire". Youth are required to read the History of Camp Fire, tour the office of their council, or follow another approved method of understanding the services Camp Fire provides.<ref name="AMB">{{Cite web |last=Beard |first=Alice Marie |title=Historical Origins of Camp Fire |url=http://www.alicemariebeard.com/campfire/history.htm |access-date=January 29, 2009}}</ref>

In 2004, the WoHeLo Award was expanded to Teens in Action members, allowing all high-school-aged Camp Fire members to work toward the award.<ref name="IRB" />

===Service-Learning===
Service Learning has always been a large part of the Camp Fire curriculum. In 2008–2009, Camp Fire councils engaged a total of 2,864 older youth in service learning projects, totaling over 108,852 hours of work with 116 community partners. Working with [[Learn and Serve America]], 27 Camp Fire councils were able to get 1,731 teens to help over 70,300 youth and family members from low-income housing understand emergency preparedness. The ''Gift of Giving'' program, for grades K–8, is the nation's only organized and measurable introduction to service-learning. To date, over 100,000 children have participated in this program.

====Teens in Action====
The Teens in Action program is built on Camp Fire's tradition of recognizing youth as part of the solution to today's social challenges. Working together with young people, Teens in Action strives to improve the communities where youth live, to challenge them to learn new skills and provide leadership in areas never thought possible. Programs of this nature aim to inspire and honor community responsibility, contribute to the future of American volunteerism, and encourage a sense of caring for others.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Teen FAQ |url=http://www.campfire.org/teens/teens_FAQ.html |access-date=January 30, 2009 |publisher=Camp Fire USA}}{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The principles of Teens in Action are based on youth–adult partnerships and learning through empowering experiences. Its intent is to build strong ties between teens and their families, schools and communities, and to put a spotlight on issues of concern to youth. This program is based on the idea that young people are the key to the future and are making a difference in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Teens in Action |url=https://campfire.org/programs |access-date=2019-09-15 |publisher=Camp Fire USA}}</ref>

===Hold on to Health===
Hold on to Health is a Camp Fire program that helps to teach children to make healthy decisions regarding exercise and eating. It also encourages children to get their families and other youth involved in becoming healthy.

===Camp and environmental education===
Since Camp Fire's inception, it has been about getting girls out in the wilderness to learn. The Gulick family had formed Camp WoHeLo before they had the idea to start the Camp Fire Organization.

Camp Fire is the largest coeducational nonsectarian camp provider, operating more than 110 environmental and camp programs throughout the United States, and annually serving more than 34,000 school-age youth. Its outdoor experiences help children work in groups, make friends and build self-esteem, while learning about ecology, conservation and the interrelationships of all living things. The Camp Fire camping and environmental education experience teaches youth to work in teams and make friends, while building self-esteem and good decision making skills.<ref name="IRB" /> 

A common Camp Fire approach is to let the youth decide on their activities, allowing them to feel a sense of ownership with their camp schedule and helping them to become more proactive. It is Camp Fire's belief that any program activity that the group does together is not as important or lasting as the effects of being with a group of peers and a supportive adult in an environment where they are able to share their feelings and learn from experience.

''"The organization shall endeavor to aid in the formation of habits making for health and vigor, the out-of-door habit, and the out-of-door spirit."'' Luther Gulick<ref>{{Cite book |last=Curtis |first=Henry Stoddard |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.39876 |title=The Play Movement and Its Significance |publisher=The Macmillan Company |year=1917 |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.39876/page/n320 272] |access-date=January 30, 2009}}</ref>

====Counselor in Training program====
The Counselor in Training (CIT) program is available to all youth over 16 years of age who have an interest in becoming a counselor. The CIT program provides youth with leadership skills, self-confidence, decision-making skills and camping basics. Camp Fire's CIT program and manual are frequently used by not only Camp Fire but also other organizations, and is approved by the [[American Camping Association]].

===Community Family Club===
Community Family Club is a program designed by Camp Fire to provide developmental programs for the whole family. The goal is to include at least one adult family member or a supporting adult from the community with every child who attends. Siblings of all ages, infants through teens, are included.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ashby |first=Nicole |year=2001 |title=Camp Fire's Family Club Builds Partnerships |url=http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/17/13/98.pdf |access-date=January 30, 2009 |publisher=Department of Education |page=8}}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Community Family Clubs also provide opportunities to create strong partnerships with corporations, schools, faith-based communities, child care settings and other community organizations to advance the needs of children, youth, and families across the country. Families come together once a month to share a meal and participate in a recognition ceremony designed to recognize both individual and group accomplishments. The club then breaks into age-level groups for an activity session led by a team of parents who volunteer for the short-term assignment for that month. This program offers parents and guardians the ability to find a community support group for raising their families, and also provides positive family interaction base on structured, educational and fun experiences and activities.

===Absolutely Incredible Kid Day===
Started in 1997, Absolutely Incredible Kid Day (AIKD) is a national annual campaign in which adults write letters of love and support to the young people in their lives. This event is held the third Thursday of March, to correspond to the founding date of Camp Fire.

In previous years, Absolutely Incredible Kid Day developed a following, including athletes, entertainers, and celebrities who have championed the cause by writing letters to America's youth, including former presidents [[Bill Clinton]] [[George W. Bush]], [[Oprah Winfrey]], [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] Inductee [[Jerry Rice]], and astronaut and former Senator [[John Glenn]]. On social media, Absolutely Incredible Kid Day uses the hashtags #KidDay and #AIKD.<ref name="IRB" />

===Past programs===
====Bluebirds, Blue Jays, Sparks====
Many names have been used within Camp Fire to identify different age groups. For many years, Camp Fire's youngest elementary school members were known as Bluebirds.

In 1983, a club program for kindergarteners was introduced, called Sparks. In 1989, these two age groups were combined, and a new program level for kindergarten, first, and second graders called Starflight was created. The Little Stars program for pre-schoolers was added in 2005. The tradition of Bluebirds has been preserved as a Camp Fire mascot for all ages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.campfirebr.org/aboutus.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100121181954/http://www.campfirebr.org/aboutus.cfm |archive-date=January 21, 2010 |access-date=January 29, 2009 |publisher=Camp Fire USA Big River Council |df=mdy}}</ref>