For Camp Fire Minnesota staff, one of the highlights of this past summer was our blossoming Partner Overnight Program. Separate from our traditional overnight camp programs, our partner overnights form a unique bridge between Camp Fire Minnesota and local schools and organizations.  

“It’s a way for our community partners to experience camp in a way that meets their individual program needs or interests for the summer,” says Caroline Bowen, the School Programs Manager at Camp Fire Minnesota.  

Through our partner programs, our community partners—including local nonprofits and public schools that participate in our year-round Afterschool Explorers programs—are invited to participate in camp programming with Camp Fire Minnesota staff.  Partners can choose to coordinate either a day or overnight camp experience. 

 

While our traditional overnight camp programs follow a consistent structure throughout the summer, partner overnights are intentionally crafted to meet the unique needs of each community partner, and oftentimes involve direct collaboration with staff members from our partner schools and organizations.  

One example is our collaboration with MIGIZI, a local nonprofit organization that supports the educational, social, economic, and cultural development of American Indian youth. This past summer, MIGIZI youth spent a night at Camp Fire to prepare for their upcoming group trip to the Boundary Waters.  

“[It serves as] an introduction overnight experience to do some relationship building with each other and also learn different skills from our staff around, how do you pack for a Boundary Waters trip? How do you portage a canoe? Just a space to ask a lot of questions, too, and to get a little bit more comfortable with the idea of going on the trip,” Caroline says.  

While short, our partner day camp and overnight programs offer an opportunity for meaningful relationship-building within community partner groups, and well as between Camp Fire Minnesota and our partners. 

Zoe Allen, our Youth Program Naturalist & Community Liaison, shares a bit about her experience leading the MIGIZI overnight: “It was amazing just to see them come out of their shells in even just a day. You know, it’s not much time that we’re spending together…but some of the things I love about camp, like ‘challenge by choice’ and pushing youth more out of their comfort zone [helps them] have experiences that they may not have otherwise had.”  

“Challenge by choice” refers to the practice of allowing young people to opt into a challenge, rather than pressuring them to participate in something they might not feel ready to do.  

Both Zoe and Caroline also spoke in depth about the impact that our Partner Overnight Programs have on Camp Fire Minnesota. Many times, our community partners bring values and practices that eventually become incorporated into Camp Fire’s educational programming and camp traditions, creating a powerful cultural exchange that helps our organization grow.  

Our team is hopeful to keep seeing our Partner Overnight Programs expand over time. “A hope that I have is that they continue to become a more embedded part of the overall summer camp program for Camp Fire. Naturally, that happens the more partner overnights that we get to do,” says Caroline.  

If you’re a community partner who’s interested in participating in a Partner Overnight Program next summer or learning more about what kinds of activities we offer, reach out to Caroline Bowen at carolineb@campfiremn.org.