The Cooperative Extension Service in Madison County held an overnight camp counselor training for 25 Madison County camp junior and young adult counselors ages 16-18. This training was held at the Madison County Extension Office on May 20th through 21st where the volunteers participated in 8 hours of training topics included: the circle of courage, basics of working with campers, being a role model, building a leadership team, personal strengths and abilities, dealing with common camp challenges and sensitive issues, and more.  

The Kentucky 4-H summer camping program serves as a delivery mode to enhance positive youth development both during and after the camping experience.   One of the primary goals is to enrich the lives for all youth and adult participants while developing strong leadership and life skills that will be taken back to the communities in which they live. The teen counselors serve as role models during their week of camp. Not only are these teens having a positive impact on the campers, but they are building their own personal leadership skills.

In June of 2019, Madison County had 392 people attend 4-H Camp; 323 campers, 18 teens, and 46 adult volunteers, 5 Extension Staff.

72% of our teenage counselors were campers themselves.

100% of the counselors who were former campers reported that they wanted to be like a specific camp counselor that they had as a camper because of their positive experience.

100% of the participants in this training reported feeling confident in their abilities to serve as camp counselors.

100% of the participants identified that they could provide opportunities for their campers to form a sense of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity.