Racial Justice, Equity, Radical Inclusivity & Restorative Justice Practices
at Camp It Up!

Camp It Up! (CIU!) is not immune to the systems of oppression that exist everywhere. As a Camp that for decades had been majority white in its leadership and campers, and is now, as of 2022, a majority Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) LGBTQAI+ space, we continue our commitment to intentionally work to transform into a welcoming and safe Camp where all LGBTQAI+ families and allies, particularly those living at the intersections of marginalized identities, know they are at home.

What is the Change Circle?

Following powerful testimonies by BIPOC campers and staff in 2018 about how racism shows up at Camp - culturally, institutionally, and interpersonally - a group of campers and staff came together to create a racial justice, equity, and radical inclusivity Work Group, called the Change Circle, growing to 20 active members in 2019. The multiracial group met bimonthly, with Working Groups meeting in between, to engage in long-term radical transformation of Camp. The Change Circle is a standing committee of the Board of Directors, who are all now active members.

What has been accomplished?

In 2019:

  1. Hiring: Camp formerly had a policy of "legacy hiring", automatically granting a place on staff to any kid who grew up at camp. While this provided camp youth with an opportunity to find belonging, build skills, and mentor each other in often beautiful ways, it also made changes to camp's white-dominant culture and leadership difficult if not impossible. The Executive Director shifted to hiring staff based on clear standards, with a goal of recruiting BIPOC staff from inside and outside the camp community. Two new BIPOC Camp Directors were hired, leading the staff, and the CIT (Counselor-in-Training) program.
  2. Training: Staff attended a mandatory 5-hour training prior to camp covering racial equity, anti-oppressive practices, addressing sexual harassment, and consent.
  3. Land Acknowledgment and Community Agreements: Camper families received a welcome packet that included community norms/agreements and land acknowledgment. Additionally, the welcoming event included: an indigenous-led land acknowledgment; a review of the staff training and explicit camp norms; testimonies from gender non-conforming staff and BIPOC staff about examples of inappropriate behavior; modeling and role-playing consent-based culture; and testimonies by staff about their first camp, stressing the priority of welcoming new campers rather than being an insular community.
  4. BIPOC Caucuses: There were three BIPOC-only meetings at camp to build safe space and community, and to articulate needed changes at camp. Many ideas generated were adopted by the Change Circle. White campers provided childcare for the caucuses.
  5. Funding/Camperships: Camp increased outreach to and funding for BIPOC families. The Homeless Children's Network (HCN) donated $8,600 to support BIPOC families coming to Camp. Oakland Feather River Camp gave a $5,000 grant to support camperships for Oakland families; 75% used to support BIPOC camper families. CIU! allocated $5,000 for camperships; 90% of used to support BIPOC camper families.

In 2020:

  1. No Camp held in 2020 because of Covid Pandemic.
  2. Restorative Justice Learning & Practice: In early 2020, the Change Circle Restorative Justice Working Group held a training on Restorative Justice practices. Over 50 Campers attended.
  3. Change in Board of Directors' membership, leadership, and Visioning Plan: In early 2020, through a rough organization transition and the onset of the Covid Pandemic, our Board of Directors changed from a 80% white member Board to a majority (75%) BIPOC membership; all of which were also Change Circle members. They committed to an organizational ReVisioning Plan. A BIPOC-led Board, Change Circle, staff, and campers' group embarked on a strategic visioning process, including reviewing, and revising the organization's Vision (mission) statement and governance.

In 2021:

  1. No Camp held in 2021 because of Covid Pandemic.
  2. Development of CIU! organizational Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) Goals: In the Fall of 2021, the CIU! Board of Directors intentionally increased their leadership in preparation for a 2022 summer camp and made four Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity (DEI) Goals to include a minimum participation of:
    • 50% BIPOC Campers, Leadership Team members, and Board of Director members
    • 50% LGBTQAI+ Campers (prioritizing increasing the % LGBTQAI+ youth), Leadership Team members, and Board of Directors members.
    • 25% Camperships and first time Campers (prioritizing increasing % of BIPOC).
  3. Increased Board Commitment: All Board members committed to actively lead various elements of Camp planning, administrative, fundraising, and programmatic implementation. This commitment from the Board was:
    • to ensure the successful reopening of our summer Camp after being closed for two years because of the Covid Pandemic.
    • to continue reaching towards meeting our organization's DEI Goals.
    • to prioritize increasing access for BIPOC and the expansive spectrum of LGBTQAI+ children and teens to a welcoming and safe family camp.

In 2022:

  1. Board of Directors:
    • All Board members committed to continue actively leading various elements of Camp planning, administrative, fundraising, and programmatic implementation.
    • The Board of Directors began recruiting additional members with a goal of a minimum of 50% BIPOC and LGBTQAI+ members. This goal was met. In January 2022, the Board expanded to 7 members who were committed to racial justice, equity, and radical inclusivity.
  2. Camp Held: Held our first Camp since 2019. It was sold out!
  3. DEI Goals: The Board renewed the same DEI goals set in 2021. All goals were exceeded!
  4. BIPOC-Centered Camp Culture, Programs, & Music: A BIPOC group of Camp youth, staff and campers looked at how Camp could expand, include, and center BIPOC children and families in the Camp culture, music, programming, and traditions.
  5. White Caucus: Organized the Change Circle's white caucus and provided an antiracist space at Camp: to engage in conversations about race/racism with white people; build anti-racist skills and practices to take action; create containers for white people to take on emotional labor with white folks; and to increase understanding of white people's personal stake in challenging racism.
  6. Restorative Justice (RJ): The Board of Directors and the Change Circle Restorative Justice Working Group partnered together to integrate Restorative Justice practices at the 2022 summer Camp. The Board included in the organization budget the funds to hire a Restorative Justice Practitioner/Trainer to work with Camp Directors to lead staff and camp RJ trainings at Camp and to facilitate a Restorative Justice process as needed.
  7. Campership and Program Funding: The Board continued to seek individual and organizational donors and grants to increase access to more BIPOC families and families with LGBTQAI+ children and teens to attend Camp. Additionally, a group of white campers organized white, class-privileged former and current campers to direct resources to fund BIPOC queer families to attend camp in 2022. $10,000 was raised. HCN continued their sponsorship of BIPOC camper families.
  8. CIU! Community Transformation: In 2022, CIU! became is a majority BIPOC community, serving LGBTQAI+, non-binary, genderqueer, gender non-conforming and gender expansive youth and families in an evolving Queer normative space.

In 2023:

  1. Camp Capacity Building: In 2023, we doubled the people served by offering two Camp sessions with a total of 300 campers and staff attending.
  2. DEI Goals: Our organizational DEI Goals included a minimum participation of:
    • 50% BIPOC Campers, Leadership Team members, and Board of Director members
    • 50% LGBTQAI+ Campers (prioritizing increasing the % of LGBTQAI+ youth), Leadership Team members, and Board of Directors members.
    • 25% Camperships and first time Campers (prioritizing increasing % of BIPOC).
    • All goals were met and/or exceeded.
  3. Representation matters: For youth and adult campers to see themselves reflected in the CIU! Leadership increases self-esteem, blooms pride, well-being, and a desire to increase their leadership. In 2023, our CIU! Leadership Team included:
    • 100% in LGBTQAI+ families; 100% LGBTQAI+ Camp Directors, Counselors-in-Training, Camp Counselors and Specialists.
    • 67% BIPOC Camp Directors
    • 58% BIPOC Camp Staff
    • 50% Non-binary, Gender Queer, Gender Nonconforming, and Transgender Camp staff.
    • Members of our Board of Directors included:
      • 60% BIPOC
      • 80% LGBTQAI+
      • 100% are parents.
      • 100% are parents of LGBTQAI+ youth.
      • 60% are parents of trans, non-binary, genderqueer, gender nonconforming, and/or gender expansive youth.
  4. Camperships and Program Funding: The Board continued to seek individual and organizational donors and grants to increase access for more BIPOC families and families with LGBTQAI+ children and teens to attend Camp. A Fundraiser was created with a goal of $35,000 for Camperships. This goal was met! HCN continued and increased their sponsorship of BIPOC camper families. We received a $5000 grant from Chamberlin Educational Foundation towards the CIT Program and Camperships.

In 2024 (so far):

  1. Representation matters: We have increased our Board membership by 17%. The members of our Board of Directors now include:
    • 67% BIPOC
    • 83% LGBTQAI+
    • 100% are parents.
    • 83% are parents of LGBTQAI+ youth.
    • 60% are parents of trans, non-binary, genderqueer, gender nonconforming, and/or gender expansive youth.
  2. New Camp location and Increased Camp Capacity Building: After a 20+ year partnership with Oakland Feather River Camp as our Camp location, we are moving to a new site for our July Camp; Camp Navarro in Mendocino County. This year we are celebrating our 35th Anniversary of providing LGBTQAI+ Family Camps with an exquisite new Camp home. We are very excited about our partnership with Camp Navarro as it not only increases our ability to serve more families, it also enables us to expand our programming capacity. With being only 2.5 hours north of the SF Bay Area, it will also be more accessible.
  3. Camperships, Program Funding, and Community Partners: The Board is continuing to seek individual and organizational donors and grants to increase access to more BIPOC families and families with LGBTQAI+ children and teens to attend Camp and to expand our CIT Youth Leadership Development Program. So far this year, we have been awarded: a $5000 grant from Chamberlin Educational Foundation towards the CIT Program and Camperships for WCCUSD families and a $12,000 grant from the Pony Barnes Foundation towards CIT Curriculum Development and BIPOC CIT and parent/guardian Camperships. We have also expanded our partnership with Our Family Coalition who will provide Camperships, Workshops at Camp, and support outreach for Camp.
  4. DEI Goals: Our organizational DEI Goals have increased to include a minimum participation of:
    • 60% BIPOC Campers, Leadership Team members, and Board of Director members
    • 60% LGBTQAI+ Campers (prioritizing increasing the % of LGBTQAI+ youth), Leadership Team members, and Board of Directors members.
    • 25% Camperships and first time Campers (prioritizing increasing % of BIPOC and LGBTQAI+ youth)
  5. Change Circle: The Change Circle meets the first Saturday of the month, via Zoom, from 10:00am-12:00pm in support of our continued work towards Racial Justice, Equity, and Radical Inclusion at Camp. Email Campitupmail@gmail.com if you would like to attend and we will send you the link.