Our campers are 5th-9th graders (age 9-15) and are from East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Red Hook, and the Bronx. When 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 and single parents with multiple jobs, so they are frequently required to raise their younger siblings themselves. They rarely have the opportunity to relax and play and be a kid. Many of our first-time campers arrive at camp having never seen a lake, expansive forests, or rolling grass hills. Camp is usually their only experience outside of the streets of NYC. Campers include many future POTUSes, Beyoncés, and Neil De Grasse Tysons!