A typical 5-day 4-H Camp session offers upwards of 96 hours of direct, uninterrupted contact between youth and their cabin leaders/counselors. That’s the equivalent of a family sitting down at the dinner table for 30-minutes, 192 days of the year. The interactions offered in a residential camp/group living setting is so important to youth. The time we spend with youth in the camp setting offers opportunities for those youth to feel a sense of belonging, to have meaningful conversations with caring adults, to practice generosity, group decision-making, they experience new activities they typically do not have access to at home, and they gain independence by taking on the responsibility in keeping track of their belongings and keeping to the camp schedule. 

A camper parent who served as a camp volunteer for their first time this summer reached out to me to say “…It was our first time [at camp] and it blew away expectations. It was like something from a movie…the staff and counselors were kind, patient, and passionate…the class leaders had the awareness to identify kids who needed a little extra attention and created a wonderful environment for the kids to learn and have fun…this really made a difference and may have helped develop a hobby for life. Thank you so much for allowing me to experience this. I have had something missing since retiring as a firefighter and [camp] helped me to fill that void.” 

Youth are eligible to attend residential summer camp as a participant for a span of 6 years, beginning at age 9. 15-year-olds can return as a counselor-in-training, with opportunities to observe adult cabin leaders/counselors, attend leadership workshops, assist with leading some camp classes, and providing behind the scenes support of their camp session programming. During the 2023 Program Year, 17,652 individuals participated in Kentucky 4-H Summer Camp at one of our four camp facilities. The breakdown of attendance includes: 14,825 youth, 2,553 adult volunteers, and 274 extension staff. To breakdown attendance even further, of the 17,652 individuals: 9,638 were female, 8,014 were male, 292 were Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, 12,525 were white, 468 were black, 99 were Asian/Pacific Islander, 21 Native American Indian/Alaska Native, and 117 were Other.