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Melissa almost said no.
When her Working on Womanhood (WOW) mentor, Ms. Cristina, encouraged her to attend Camp for All Kids' Four Star Fellowship at Camp WeHaKee, the idea of spending a week away from home with nearly 100 teenagers she had never met before felt intimidating. "I was a little skeptical at first," Melissa admitted.
But she decided to take the chance.
Just a few days later, everything had changed.
"I've made a bunch of new friends, met a bunch of new people, and tried experiences that I wouldn't have had back home."
But while trying new activities was exciting, what surprised Melissa most wasn't what she did – it was the people she met.
She quickly discovered something special about camp.
"Everyone here wants you to be here," she said. "Everyone smiles. Everyone says hi. I feel like it's a community where everyone feels safe and comfortable to be themselves. Just to be around people that are the same as you – they want to be positive. That was one of the things I was most nervous for about coming, and I realized that it's not what I thought it would be, it's so much better.”
Then she said something that perfectly captures what the Four Star Fellowship is all about:
"It's not really that I'm making friends just for the present, I'm making friends for the future.”
In just one week, Melissa found more than new experiences.
She found a place where she felt welcomed.
Where trying something new felt exciting instead of intimidating.
Where strangers quickly became friends.
And where she discovered the confidence to say "yes" to opportunities she once thought were beyond her comfort zone.
Before returning home, Melissa had already decided what she wanted to tell her friends.
"I would tell them they should come," she said. "The community here is so special. You get to try new things, meet new people, and have experiences you can carry with you. I want to come back."
That's exactly why the Four Star Fellowship exists.
Through partnerships like Youth Guidance’s WOW program and WeHaKee Camp for Girls, Camp for All Kids helps young people discover something many of them never expected to find in just one week: a welcoming community, lasting friendships, and the confidence to embrace new possibilities.
Thank you for helping make stories like Melissa's possible.
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