Camp Hawkeye

Our mission at Camp Hawkeye is to bring together a diverse community of individuals that include campers and staff from a variety of geographic, socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. In this way we seek to bridge social, economic, and cultural gaps to build positive relationships and deep mutual understanding for our young campers. Why? Too much of the time in our lives is spent in the company of people who are, to a great extent, like ourselves. By living among, attending school alongside, and socializing with people like ourselves much of the world becomes foreign and different (the "other") and often in a negative or frightening way. We strive to destroy the barriers that are thrown up as a result, undermine the stereotypes that develop, and facilitate friendships that subvert this isolation. Only through these connections can true understanding be achieved. How? By creating a safe and caring community with shared goals and a deep sense of belonging. By having campers and staff that are different from one another live, work, and play together every day. By nurturing the development of strong and lasting relationships with peers and counselors. Finally, by nurturing the natural epiphanies that kids come to on their own Hawkeye leverages these friendships to become the glue that binds us together in a greater community. Who? As explained above our campers come from a variety of backgrounds and can be grouped or described in various ways. What we aim for each year is to bring a balanced group together, one made up of equal parts international campers, campers from underserved communities, and campers you may expect to find at overnight camp anyway. Mixed into each of these broad categories are campers of various religious backgrounds and ethnic makeups.