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Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!
Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!
Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!
Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!
Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!
Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!
Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!
Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!
Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!
Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!
Please enter your name, email and zip code below to sign up!
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The Science Behind Lasting Change at Salvation Army Summer Camps
Sponsor a Child NowEvery summer, something extraordinary happens at Salvation Army camps across the country. Children don't just make memories—they literally rewire their brains for kindness, hope, and positive behavior.
Our camp directors have witnessed transformation year after year. Now, backed by neuroscience research, we're seeing proof that camp doesn't just create happy memories—it creates lasting change.
Research shows that positive experiences can reroute neural pathways in children, helping them move in healthier directions.¹ At our camps, we've designed programming specifically to support this process.
The results speak for themselves: Eight weeks after camp ended, one recent survey found 62% of parents reported their children are much kinder to siblings and more helpful at home. Kids return more engaged with life, less moody, and more open with their families.
Faith-Based Practices That Stick: Simple camp traditions like sharing gratitude before meals and reflecting on the day before bed teach children emotional intelligence that serves them for life.
Community Building: Children learn to express feelings through activities like writing "I am" statements: "I'm grateful for a new friend" or "I'm sad because I saw two kids arguing." These moments of vulnerability build emotional awareness.
Safe Spaces: We continuously improve our programs. When surveys revealed concerns about bullying during free time, our staff adjusted supervision methods to ensure every child feels safe and valued.
Last year, your support created transformation for thousands of children:
"We want to continue to create a space where kids can talk about what's happening in their life, giving them an opportunity to see where faith in Jesus intersects their everyday lived experience and can bring hope into those situations," shares one of our camp directors.
This is more than summer fun; it's about instilling hope that lasts long after camp ends.
Parents tell us their children come home different, kinder, more helpful, more engaged with life. But we're not just taking their word for it. We're following up months later to ensure those positive changes stick.
Because when you invest in a child's week at camp, you're investing in their future. You're helping rewire young minds for kindness, hope, and positive behavior that will serve them for life.
Ready to change a life? Your gift of $145 sponsors a child for a week of transformation.
¹“Emotional development is built into the architecture of young children's brains in response to their environments,” per Harvard's Center on the Developing Child