when we help children to see their value and their potential for a positive future. When a child is abused or exposed to patterns of violence, he/she takes it in as a characteristic of life. Children often internalize the messages they see represented by the world around them. A child who is told she is stupid, believes she is stupid. A child who is punched, believes he isn't important enough to have better. A child who sees a world in which everything seems hopeless, often does not comprehend how their future can be any better. We help youth to see a better future when we offer hope and help them build their self-esteem through opportunities to serve and to grow.


some act out aggressively, starting fights and bullying others in order to gain some sense of control over their lives. Others internalize everything, becoming withdrawn, even hurting themselves under the weight of their pain. Polaris Youth exists to serve these kids. Through camp opportunities, with room to expand into mentoring and other community services in the future, we aim to break down the sense of hopelessness and to build integrity and self esteem in these youth.


provides a unique opportunity to serve this population. 

For starters, it gets them out of the environment which they are struggling with, and provides a sense of respite - not for a day; that is not long enough, but for a camp session. It gets them away from the relationships- be it at home, school, or otherwise, that are sour. It gets them away from the media which portrays violence and hopelessness. It also gets them away from their own neighborhood violence, and from everything that reminds them of abuse and helplessness. 

Camp then places them in an opportunity where they have the opportunity to build self esteem through mentoring and encouragement by staff, the building of new skills, the challenge of trying new and hard things, and the opportunity to serve others in need and to see beyond their own struggles.

has a unique method for reaching out to this population of youth. We focus on outdoor adventures and on opportunities to serve others, as a way to reach youth in need.

Outdoor adventures provide the opportunity to find and build new skills that build self esteem and incorporate team building and communication skills that help them to grow towards adulthood. Polaris' vision is to incorporate adventures such as rock climbing, boating, horse-packing, backpacking, mountain biking, wind surfing, survival skills, etc.

Service provides the opportunity to see beyond oneself to the needs of others, and also builds on self esteem as youth feel empowered to make a positive difference. Polaris' vision for service includes a toy workshop to donate handmade toys to kids in need, a traveling theater (which incorporates the development of interactive and social skills), an animal  care program ( working with orphaned animals), etc.

Other activities and programs will be implemented if they are seen as beneficial to building integrity and self esteem. In particular, we wish to develop what we call an "Integrity Program," to incorporate educational elements such as outdoor science, and to offer an optional church service to campers .

We are faith-based in our administrative structure, and hope to represent the love and compassion of Jesus. We serve and respect youth of any belief-system, thus the optionality of participating in any faith-based activities.

We make a difference

Camp

When children hurt,

Polaris Youth