By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The Madame President Camp will take place next month for a third year in a row, teaching middle school aged girls leadership skills.
The camp is hosted by the St. Joseph Quorum Initiative, and centers around five core themes: leadership, civic education, activism, communication, and self-discovery.
Karen Woodbury with the Quorum Initiative says the camp originated In Kansas City when two moms were looking for a camp for their middle school kids
“They didn’t want to do science camp, they didn’t want to do sports camps, and they didn’t want to do what they call princess camps,” Woodbury tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “So, they decided they wanted something where the girls could learn how to speak up and feel better about themselves and learn more about their communities, so they started Madame President Camp in Kansas City, Missouri.”
Woodbury says this camp helps in that mission, empowering girls at a young age
“We feel like if they understand how important it is to learn how to be a leader in their community at an early age, those are women that are going to stay in the community, they’re going to help, and this is one of the reason Natalie’s (Hawn) is so important with this, is they’re going to help create a better community around them,” Woodbury explains. “And so, with Quorum Initiative and Madame President Camp what we’re looking at is leadership now and leadership in the future.”
The camp is for girls between ages 11 and 13, or sixth and eighth grades. It runs July 14th through the 16th at Missouri Western and registration is open now, but space is limited and filling fast.
Woodbury with the group says she sees a change in girls who attend the camp, going from shy to using their voice. She says one exercise for example, teaches the girls how to vote
“And they learn how important voting is, and they have something called cookies and ice cream,” Woodbury says. “And so, they have to speak up about why they think we should have cookies at the end of camp or ice cream and why they think that matters.”
Woodbury says at the end of camp, the results are revealed.
“And some of them aren’t very happy, they’re like well wait a minute I want this, and they start to understand that you have to speak up, you have to say what you think, but it doesn’t always happen the way that you want it to,” Woodbury explains.
You can learn more by clicking HERE. Once you click the link, if you are interested in registering if there are spots open, scroll and find the St. Joseph camp.
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