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This summer, 18 young women came to The Salvation Army Alaska Division’s King’s Lake Camp in Wasilla, Alaska, unsure of what to expect of the inaugural Brave Camp, held July 14-18.
They left feeling empowered, loved and cared for, said Divisional Women’s Ministries Secretary Captain Heather Pope.
Brave events are part of The Salvation Army’s programming for young women ages 11-18, with recent events held in places including San Diego.
At Brave events, girls are supported with fun activities, community resources and positive and uplifting messages from individuals who have walked through adversity. The goal? Empowering them to stay safe.
“Brave has become an important part of The Salvation Army’s programming in the West as we recognize the need to empower our young women to understand their worth in the world, the church, but also in the eyes of God,” said Territorial Social Justice Ministries Director Jacqui Larsson. “This generation of girls needs to understand the dangers that exist in our society more than ever and also understand that there is a safe place to turn when they have a need.”
Initially, the Alaska Division was planning on holding a traditional day-long Brave event, but after meeting with Divisional Youth and Candidates’ Secretary Captain Monica Kyle, Pope said they determined it would be a strong camp offering.
“This would give us not only a few hours to pour positivity into these girls, but a whole week,” Pope said.
Brave camp was open to all teen girls in Alaska, and Pope said they specifically reached out to corps in the Southeast—villages and small towns where youth don’t often have a chance to get out to camp or even Anchorage. Attendance requires a large time and monetary investment and often multiple modes of transportation, like planes and ferries, to get there.
Teens who attended came from various backgrounds, including some who are in the foster care system. Pope said Brave aimed to provide respite and encouragement amid challenges that exist for teens in Alaska.
“What a beautiful example of how important it is to take time to encourage young women and to remind them that they can do hard things.”
Captain Heather Pope
A report from Loyola University New Orleans and the Modern Slavery Research Project found nearly 30 percent of youth experiencing homelessness in Anchorage identified as victims of human trafficking. Additionally, Alaska has high rates of domestic abuse and rising mental health challenges among teens.
At Brave camp, for four days, each girl was encouraged, celebrated and lifted up. Daily themes included: What defines you?; Being uniquely you; Healthy vs. harmful; and Loving who you are.
There were many opportunities for intentional fun, too, both in the traditional camp offerings of communing with God and nature, and through art classes, crafts—designing your own make-up bag, dried flower vases, needle punch and mandala rocks—yoga and relaxation.
Each girl was invited to add a positive note about themselves to an affirmation wall collage. When completed, it took the shape of a heart. Campers also learned how to make charcuterie boards that were shared for lunch.
Evenings took on fun themes, like spa night with facials, eye and lip masks and relaxing music. An 80s dance party featured festive decorations, blow-up guitars, pop rocks, glow sticks and dancing. A paint-and-sip night included canvas painting, a boba-making class and fruity drink mixes.
The evenings culminated with a visit from a local salon to give each girl a makeover of her choice. Pope said many wanted haircuts and big curls, with others choosing bubble braids and brightly colored hair extensions.
While girls waited to get their hair done, they could get their nails painted with their choice of nail art. At the end, they were ready for the Oscar party, which featured games, Oscar trivia and an opportunity to craft Oscar Mad-Libs acceptance speeches.
In true Oscars fashion, there was an after party, where the girls found an array of goodies ready to dip in chocolate. There, the girls could choose to read their acceptance speeches.
One young woman stood to read hers. She looked nervous but read loud and clear.
After she was done, she came up to Pope and said, “Thank you so much for planning all of this for us. I never would have been able to read in front of others like I just did. But now I feel brave.”
“I had to fight back tears,” Pope said. “What a beautiful example of how important it is to take time to encourage young women and to remind them that they can do hard things.”
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