The first time Dania stepped into the woods with Camptown’s Natural Wonders Day Camp, she carried with her the quiet uncertainty that many children know too well. As an only child in a household where her parents, Thiago and Lucia, worked long hours to make ends meet, Dania often found herself navigating the world with limited opportunities for exploration and mentorship.
When Wilderness Adventure Club launched at Dania’s elementary school, she was among the first to sign up. Week after week, she returned to spend time with Maggie and her fellow adventurers, building trust through consistent, one-on-one interactions that opened new horizons for her young mind.
For Dania, this wasn’t just about learning to identify different plants or mastering outdoor skills—though she certainly did those things. It was about finding a trusted adult who understood her unique challenges and was committed to walking alongside her as she grew. “I learned that working with others means I don’t have to do everything by myself,” she wrote to us after her first semester in Wilderness Adventure Club.
The ripple effects of Dania’s growth soon extended beyond her individual experience. When Camptown invited Wilderness Adventure Club participants and their families to join Christmas and Easter gatherings, Thiago and Lucia eagerly accepted the invitation to experience the outdoors together as a family. Thiago, who speaks only Spanish, found himself in conversation with other parents, sharing how crucial these outdoor experiences had become for Dania’s social development. As their only daughter, she didn’t have siblings to spend time with during the long hours when her parents were working. Camptown had become that vital space where she could build friendships and confidence.
Meanwhile, Lucia naturally stepped into a bridge-building role, helping facilitate communication between Spanish and English-speaking families at the gathering. Her own comfort and confidence in the Camptown community allowed her to extend that same welcoming spirit to other parents who might have felt uncertain in a new environment.
What makes Dania’s story so compelling isn’t just her individual transformation, but how it illustrates the profound impact of sustained, personalized mentorship. In a world where over half of the children Camptown serves live in unconventional family structures—often with limited access to consistent adult guidance—the value of deep, trusting relationships cannot be overstated. Even Dania, with two supportive parents by her side, flourished with a little extra mentorship from an additional trusted adult.
Program Leader Maggie didn’t just run activities for a group of kids; she invested in getting to know Dania as an individual. She understood that this quiet girl needed patient encouragement to try new things, space to process her emotions, and consistent affirmation that she was capable of more than she might have believed.
The magic happens in those one-on-one moments—when a program leader notices a child’s particular interest and builds on it, when they recognize a moment of frustration and offer just the right kind of support, when they celebrate small victories that might go unnoticed in a larger crowd.
One board member, reflecting on a past Flourishing Families event, captured something essential about what Camptown provides: “It’s actually hard to find activities to do with your kids, especially outdoors, that aren’t just something you drop your kid off for.”
While the core mission remains focused on individual children like Dania—providing them with the sustained mentorship and outdoor experiences they need to thrive—the inclusive family programming creates space for entire families to grow together.
When parents like Thiago and Lucia witness firsthand the confidence their daughter develops through Camptown, they become partners in reinforcing those lessons at home. When families from different cultural backgrounds come together for shared outdoor experiences, children see their parents building community across language barriers and diverse life experiences.
Today, Dania moves through the world with a different kind of confidence than when she first encountered Camptown. In a world where too many children navigate their developmental journey without consistent adult mentorship, Dania’s story reminds us of the transformative power of showing up consistently for individual children. Her voice, once quiet and uncertain, now carries the confidence of a young person who knows she belongs—in nature, in community, and in the world.