CampStrong: Showing Kids How to Ignite Inner-Strength and Achieve Well-Being

Raising healthy and flourishing children is the ultimate goal of parents but also of all societies, and positive psychology aspires to advance this goal. The positive youth development (PYD) field takes the stance that young people are resources to be developed and that out-of-school programs have the ability to foster healthy development (Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 2003). Positive psychology interventions have been empirically shown to promote well-being in youth (Norrish & Vella-Brodrick, 2009). Camps are an ideal, yet relatively unexplored vehicle for cultivating well-being in youth. This paper proposes CampStrong, a one-week camp with a focused mission of helping youth flourish by applying scientifically supported positive psychology interventions in fun and engaging ways. A camp with an explicit goal of enhancing well-being in its campers may provide a foundation for healthy and positive development across the lifespan.