2008 CAMPUS PRIDE -- Gay, Queer, Ally -- SUMMER CAMP -- the biggest, queerest and BEST EVER!

(Towson, MD) – Are you a “Happy Camper?” This Saturday, July 19 to Thursday, July 24, Campus Pride kicks off its second annual summer leadership camp at Towson University in Towson, Md. The camp is the only one in the nation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally college students and sold out last week with sixty young adults attending from nearly 50 colleges and universities this year.

Referred to as “Happy Campers,” this camp is definitely like no other. The five-day camp experience blends traditional camp activities with a core curriculum of skill building in leadership development, social justice and civic involvement. The end goal is to equip campers with the knowledge and tools for grassroots change and to enact LGBT-inclusive policies, programs and practices on campus. Campers will also share in a range of social activities including premier movie nights and coffeehouse entertainment, as well as a planned day trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with leaders of national LGBT and ally organizations and other social justice groups. Still at the heart of the camp experience is the traditional kind of bonding opportunities and lifetime networks that only can be found at camp.

“Camp was an amazing, life-changing experience for me. The things I learned and the people I met have inspired me this past year and helped me to make my student organization the best it's ever been,” said Shane Medina, a 2007 Happy Camper and current student leader at Old Dominion University in Norfolk,Va. “I have never spent a better week in my life.”

WHAT OTHER HAPPY CAMPERS HAD TO SAY?
“Camp blew all my expectations out of the water. I thought this was just going to be another leadership conference, same as all the others... far from it! Camp was a journey of self-discovery... I made friends from all over the country and built the skills and confidence to change my campus forever. I will never think of LGBT issues the same again."

“Campus Pride organized one of the most effective, high caliber student organizing and leadership activities I have seen as a student leader. Every time I thought I had all the info, I was pleasantly surprised.”

“Thanks to Campus Pride, I am a better leader. I have been able to reevaluate my perspectives on being a queer leader and come away with new tools to motivate others.”

“Never before had I encountered so many leaders like me. The resources shared were phenomenal, definitely worth your time and investment…”

Check out our live blogging from CAMP with our partner THE ADVOCATE GEN Q BLOG at http://www.advocategenq.com/weblogs/

or go online to view more photos, news articles, blog features and the camp video at http://www.campuspride.org/camp.asp

SEE YOU AT CAMPUS PRIDE CAMP NEXT SUMMER 2009!