TFP 2024 Summer Teen Camp

PRACTICE PEACE TO KNOW PEACE

Thanks to the generosity of the TFP community, we raised $21,896 for camp this year. We are delighted to announce that our 18th Annual Summer Teen Camp was a week-long day camp at Maxwell House, headquarters of the Western Justice Center, in Pasadena, CA.

Maxwell House offers a beautiful restorative setting for camp, complete with rose gardens, patios, and a neighboring park in the heart of Old-town Pasadena. We aim to provide an impactful experience for our young, compassionate leaders, including mindfulness and meditation workshops, music enrichment, yoga, and art.

Camp registration for 2025 will be available in the Spring. Feel free to share information about this opportunity with the young people in your life. Note that limited space is available, as a certain number of spots are reserved for scholarship recipients from our afterschool programs in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

“Our campers are met and learn to meet themselves with peace, kindness, and compassion. After a great deal of reflection, in the meditations and discussions, there is a lot of wisdom and feelings of empowerment among everyone. They feel inspired to move forward through life in a meaningful way.”

- TFP Facilitator

Facilitator Abby Posner and former TFP camper Shaniya Woods are teaming up to lead a powerful meditation on kindness at our annual Summer Teen Camp.

Daily schedule

COVID-19 safety protocols

Curriculum sample

coming to camp

Campers creating a sand mandala. The Shitro Mandala provides the framework for our curriculum, the blueprint of the Mandala helps participants understand how their attitudes directly impact their actions and experiences.

“Every year at camp, I witness our teens become more resilient, confident, and free to be kind, compassionate, and caring. By the end of camp, they feel safe enough to be inclusive and generous to everyone, including themselves. Not only is it healing, it’s inspiring."

— Mayme Donsker, TFP Executive Director

In the closing ceremony campers dissolve the sand mandala in recognition of the impermanence of all things, and our potential for peace and well-being.

Tools for Peace Annual Summer Teen Camp

In our Annual Summer Teen Camp, students enjoy a transformative week-long experience rooted in practicing mindfulness, learning meditation, and cultivating compassion, along with the usual fun activities like hiking, crafts, music-making, and game nights. Camp hosts 20-40 youth (ages 13-18) on each year, and takes place in a peaceful, natural environment in the L.A. area.

camp song

Every year, with the help of our amazing Camp Music Director, Abby Posner, the campers write a song about what they have learned at our Annual Tools for Peace Summer Camp. Enjoy!