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Locations and Dates
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Wisconsin
June 10 – 15, 2019
House In The Wood
Delavan, WI
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West Virginia
June 21 – 28, 2019
Abram’s Creek Retreat & Campground
West Virginia
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California
July 2 – 7, 2019
Camp Loma
Los Gatos, CA
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Ohioana
August 4 – 10, 2019
Lutheran Hills
Morgantown, IN
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Participants

Our Camps have welcomed participants from all over the US and Canada, as well as Belgium, Austria and New Zealand at past camps.

One question we often hear is "will there be other kids the same age as mine at camp?" The answer, most likely, is yes! You can see the age distribution of participants from our 2016 season of summer camps shown in the table below.

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Facilities, Food & Lodging

Each Family HEART Camp venue includes indoor and outdoor meeting and play spaces, cooking and dining facilities, as well as varied recreation and relaxation opportunities such as swimming ponds, playing fields and hiking trails. Lodging possibilities may included tent camping, platform wall tents, rustic cabins, and even hotel-quality accommodations, depending on the venue.

Food service is either provided by the venue, catered on-site by a staff chef or prepared by the community with the support of food service staff. Our intention for Family HEART Camp is to provide healthy, enjoyable meals that satisfy the dietary needs and preferences of a large variety of campers. We are usually able to accommodate omnivorous, vegetarian and vegan diets, with provisions for gluten- and dairy-free meals.

Staff & Programming
Hosting Team
Each camp is served by a Hosting Team dedicated to cultivating a welcoming environment in the camp and providing for the logistical care of the community.
Program Team
Each camp is led by trainers certified by the international Center for Nonviolent Communication, supported by a team of volunteers with many years of NVC experience. They manage all programing, as well as offer mediation and coaching during camp.
Community Sourced Programming
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Our camp sessions are structured using Community Sourced Programming (CSP), an adaptation of Open Space Technology (OST), which allows both staff and campers to contribute to creating the schedule of activities for the day.
Sessions offered by our Program Team infuse the community with a rich experience of the values at the core of Family HEART Camp, while sharing the communication skills that help us all realize those values.
While the Program Team is responsible for making offerings during CSP sessions, this is a community framework and anyone in the community may make additional offerings, sharing their skills and passions with the community. All campers are free to take part in activities they are drawn to, and to change activities at will.
The great benefit of CSP is its flexibility to meet the needs of each camp community, recognizing that everyone — children included — can contribute to the community.
Community Sourced Programming
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Here is a small sampling of sessions which might be offered by campers:
  • Introduction to NVC
  • Field Games, including Capture the Flag, Soccer, Wiffle-Ball and Ultimate Frisbee
  • Connecting with Feelings through Bodily Sensations
  • Improv Games
  • Loving-Kindness Meditation
  • Crafts such as plaster masks, "Oobleck," jewelry, forest lanterns
  • Taking Responsibility for our Feelings
  • Making agreements while making brownies
  • Making Fairy Houses
  • Facilitated Listening Circle
  • Taking NVC to the Street
  • Self-Empathy and Empathy
Volunteering
Our Program Team volunteers have many years of experience practicing and sharing NVC and many of them are candidates for certification with the Center for Nonviolent Communication.
Our Host Team volunteers bring a range of skills to support camp, from cooking and carpentry to tech support and first aid.
If you are interested in volunteering at one of our camps on the Hosting Team (supporting the onsite team) or the Program Team (supporting camp sessions) please fill out our volunteer application.
Please contact us if you have any questions about volunteering at Family HEART Camp.
complete the volunteer application
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