NRL News
Page 8
June-July 2011
Volume 38
Issue 6-7

National Right to Life Announces Life and Leadership Camp Initiative

By Joleigh Little

When something is awesome, effective, and a ton of fun to boot, you really should share it, right?

That’s the theory behind National Right to Life’s new “Life and Leadership Camp Initiative.” Building on successful camp programs in a number of its state affiliates, NRLC is now launching its own camp program with a little help from staffers and volunteers at Louisiana Right to Life, Wisconsin Right to Life, and Rhode Island Right to Life.

Set to kick off in three pilot states (Nebraska, Nevada, and North Carolina) this summer and fall, the Life and Leadership Camp Initiative will then spread to other states in the summer of 2012. The goal is to eventually have NRLC camp programs running in all 50 states.

You see, it’s really all about training the next generation of pro-lifers—training them to be compassionate advocates for women and their unborn children, to be passionate defenders of innocent life at all levels, and to be an eloquent voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.

In a nutshell it’s about life.

It’s about teaching junior high- through college-aged young people that they can make a difference. That theirs is the generation that will see an end to abortion and euthanasia. That if they pour their energy into changing hearts and minds, lives will be saved.

It’s also about leadership.

It’s about showing pro-life youth how to use their God-given talents to impact the world around them. How to be the kind of people that others want to follow. How to so live out their pro-life convictions that even people who disagree with them will want to know just what it is that sets them apart. That makes them different from others in their age group.

And last, but certainly not least, it’s about camp!

Where else but camp can you learn about life and death, to defend the weak, to speak for the voiceless, to stand for truth, and then two hours later be defending your team in a rousing game of Humans vs. Zombies?

Where but camp can you start the week out in a sea of unfamiliar faces and leave with new friendships that will last a lifetime?

Where but camp can you combine the best pro-life education on the planet with great food, campfires, volleyball, Living Clue, and an iced mocha at The Baby Bean?

Nowhere!

So now that you’re fired up about camp—and how could you not be ... it’s CAMP—let us introduce you to NRLC’s newest family members.

Camp Esther is for junior high-aged youth. Think of her as the 099 version of camp. We start with the basics and give younger pro-lifers all of the critical information they need—geared toward their age group and specially designed to help them share the message of life with their peers.

Camp Joshua is for high schoolers. Joshua takes everything we teach at Esther, adds some new topics, mixes in current events, and amps everything up a notch for the older student who will leave Camp Joshua equipped to challenge the culture of death in school and anywhere else it rears its ugly head.

The Nehemiah Life Institute is for high school- and college-aged young people and combines quality educational sessions with pro-life themed field trips, mock trial and debate coaching, and the requisite amount of fun to provide the ultimate week-long pro-life training course.

Our advice? Start a child out at Esther and by the time he or she graduates from Nehemiah, you will have effectively trained one of the most incredible young advocates our world has ever seen.

So how can YOU become a part of this new Life and Leadership Camp Initiative?

I’m so glad you asked!

If you are a state affiliate of NRLC, contact us and ask for our handy and ridiculously comprehensive Life and Leadership starter kit. It will literally contain pretty much everything you need to conduct your own Camp Esther, Camp Joshua, or Nehemiah Leadership Institute. (Okay, everything except the campers and the food—neither of those keep for very long.)

If you are a member of NRLC and/or one of our local chapters, partner with your state affiliate to bring Esther, Joshua, or Nehemiah to your area!

If you are a teen or a college student or if you know of one who might be interested, contact us and we will put you in touch with the camp program nearest you!

Finally, if you are an individual who is past camp age and not affiliated with a chapter, you can contribute financially to NRLC’s Life and Leadership Camp Initiative.

How you get involved with this exciting new program isn’t important. THAT you get involved is! There is literally something everyone who reads this article can do to help promote Life and Leadership camps.

Because in the end, it’s all about life. And leadership. It’s the only way we’re going to change our culture.