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Testimonials
The YES was the best thing that has happened to my daughter and I have no doubt that the skills she has learned there will continue to help foster her into a pretty terrific human being for a long time to come... So, from the bottom of my heart...thank you to The YES!
— Heather, Parent of YES Camp Participant
My favourite part about The YES Camp is the environment and community that’s created by the staff, participants and site. The YES Camp is such a positive place that I was able to unapologetically be myself and know that people would accept me for me.
— Marcus, YES Camp Participant, Roots 2022
Each year of going [to YES Camp] I feel like I keep growing and expanding as a person. This year
I truly found a new confidence
in my self-expression and with
all of the new friendships I have made that will hopefully last for a lifetime. Everyone here is so amazing and powerful in their
own way. I love this place and I want other people to have the same experiences as me.
I love being a part of a community that values personal and collective growth and love. I love even more the beautiful things this community does for the larger communities that it touches. Working with The YES helps me remember that education (in its broadest sense) can be transformative and inspiring.
— Lindsey, Volunteer YES Staff Member
— Will, YES Camp Participant, Pathways 2019
The YES Camp creates a beautiful community that fosters friendship, creativity, and vulnerability. With each passing year I attend, I find myself growing more confident in expressing who I am and in taking risks. This camp has truly changed me as a person and helped me create friends from all over British Columbia that I continue to communicate with today. I cannot imagine a world where I had not attended The YES Camp. I will carry these experiences with me for the rest of my life.
— Gabe, YES Camp Participant, Pathways 2019
I can't believe the person who came home from camp after only 6 days! After much persuasion by me, he reluctantly agreed to go but did so with an "I'm too cool for this" attitude. He returned home as a new person with such an amazing outlook on life and towards everyone he encounters. He says it changed his life and that it was the best thing he's ever done! I was so happy but I didn't really expect this great attitude to last long but to my amazement it did! He has been a role model even to me!
— "A Grateful Parent", Parent of YES Camp Participant
Even though it's been years since my last time, Camp has remained an incredibly formative space for me, and I'm so, so glad people still have the opportunity to experience the love, the joy, the openness. To see that the small and overcrowded lives we lead in our teenage years are not all that lies ahead, and to learn what it means to share in a community of absolute love and radical acceptance, a space of self-creation and self-becoming. So much of what I cherish about myself was born there; and so many of my fondest memories from my teenage years took place among those weeks. So with all the heart I’ve ever had, thank you.
— Gerhardt, YES Camp Alumni, 2022
My son last year at almost 15 was needing to get into a program to help him realize that his life did have meaning. "YES" had me in tears, from the day I found out they would be able to help us financially, to the day I convinced my son to go, to the day I dropped him off, to the day he told me "Mom, I didn't know I could be so happy! I was happy from the minute I woke up, until the minute I woke up again the next day." This coming from a young teen who had forgotten how to smile. He used to say camp was “for goofs and geeks ". The day I picked him up he said "Mom, can you please make sure I can come back again." I can't put into words the difference The YES made in his life. A heartfelt thank you to all who are involved with The YES on every level.
— "A West Coast BC Mom", Parent of YES Camp Participant
I came out of camp with a completely different mindset on how I viewed myself and how I viewed others, for the first time in a very long time I was finally happy. Happy with myself and who I was as an individual. This camp promoted inclusion, community and equality more than any other place I had ever experienced. The biggest impact the YES has made on my life is their ability to stretch my world view more than ever before, I understand so much more about people and the world we live in. My ability to recognize people and their different views is so much stronger and more appreciative. I have learned so much more about how to treat others and how to treat myself. On my ride home from camp I remember my dad looking at me and starting to cry. I asked him why he was crying and his response was...”I don’t know what that camp did to you, I don’t know what they found in you but I have never seen you so free”, this has been one of the most memorable moments of my whole life.
— Emmy, YES Camp Participant, Pathways 2019
This week I had the amazing opportunity to attend The YES Camp. I was able to learn about communication and leadership, as well as make new friends and try new activities. I had lots of fun swimming and listening to songs sung by the incredible staff. They create such a wonderful environment where everyone feels safe and included. I practiced taking risks and stepping out of my comfort zone. I am so grateful to have been able to attend and highly look forward to returning. I really hope so many other youth get granted this opportunity and get to experience The YES.
— Daphne, YES Camp Participant, Roots 2022
Thank you to all those who have shared their experiences of The YES summer camp.