4-H Summer Camp- Memories That Last a Lifetime 

Greenup County had 67 youth, teens and adult volunteers attended 4-H Summer Camp at North Central 4-H Camp. 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 parent of a current 4-H member mentioned how empowered her daughter felt after returning from camp after gaining independence, building new friendships and stepping outside of her comfort zone to try new classes.  Another parent of a long-time camper, who is now a Junior Counselor, expressed the appreciation for the opportunity her teen has received starting as a camping, moving up to a counselor in training, then to a junior counselor and sharing the love of 4-H camp with other youth in our community. Many youth took the opportunity to try a new class or area of interest during their time at camp while exploring a new spark. Several youth also expressed interest in becoming more involved in our county 4-H programs after their summer experiences at camp.

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 2024 Program Year, 12,183 individuals participated in Kentucky 4-H Summer Camp at one of our four camp facilities. The breakdown of attendance includes: 10,712 youth, 1,272 adult volunteers, and 199 extension staff.  To breakdown attendance even further, of the 12,183 individuals: 6,770 were female, 5,413 were male, 284 were Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, 11,356 were white, 413 were black, 105 were Asian/Pacific Islander, 19 Native American Indian/Alaska Native, and 290 were Other. 

The vision of Kentucky 4-H Camping is to serve the citizens of Kentucky and beyond by providing a safe environment for experiential learning opportunities. The mission of Kentucky 4-H Camping is to improve people through intentional life skill development. This will happen through: • collaboration with local, state, and national partners, • research-based methods and programming, • service-oriented practices, • long-term strategic planning, • and play.