Going into it's eighth year (!!!), Camp POWER is Country Roads Foundation's signature initiative.

We are committed to providing a safe, nurturing, and empowering environment for all our campers. Our campers are ages 9-15 and are from East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Red Hook, and the Bronx. When returning campers turn 16, they can become Junior Counselors and eventually adult staff. 

When you grow up in NYC's toughest neighborhoods, you grow up too fast. Many of our campers have brothers and sisters in gangs, single parents with multiple jobs, and they are frequently required to raise their younger siblings themselves. They rarely have the opportunity to relax and play and be a kid on the streets of the city. Many of our first-time campers arrive at camp having never seen a lake, expansive forests, or rolling grass hills in their lives. Camp is frequently their only experience outside of NYC. 

In a world where many of us are frustrated that we even have to identify and reinforce that these kids' lives matter, it is extra important that we give these campers a chance to shine. Camp POWER provides the same freedom and encouragement that many of us received as kids, but which is sorely lacking in our campers' lives back in the city. The Camp POWER experience enriches the mind, exercises the body, and bolsters the soul. We give our campers the self-confidence they need just as they are entering the school years and we provide the tools that enable them to tackle the challenges of their every day lives with respect for themselves, their peers, and the environment around them.  

In order to provide the best experience for our campers, Country Roads Foundation has partnered with both Roads to Success, a NYC based after school and college readiness program, and Tyler Hill Camp, one of the country's premier summer camps.