Summer 2025 Recap!

The 20th season of Camp Felix has made its mark on yet another group of the best kids in the universe! What’s the good news, Camp Felix 2025?!

It may be the 20th season of Camp Felix, but Camp Felix-A BroaderWay made its debut this summer! With themes of “I am…” & “Know Yourself, Grow Yourself”, this crew of campers from Haven Academy got the newest iteration of Camp Felix; a perfect blend of performing arts—spoken word, dance and theater—and traditional summer camp activities all wrapped into one amazing week! These creative spaces encouraged campers to discover their voices, build self-expression, and grow in confidence, skills that go beyond summer.

Not to mention some yoga to recharge amidst all of that fun!

We are so grateful to have had several alumni campers who are now camp staff at the helm of launching this new program. It was a perfect blend of leadership from Felix, A BroaderWay and Haven Academy.

In partnership with The NY Foundling, the 20th summer of Camp Felix featured two fun-filled sessions of classic camp activities, singing and dancing, and music immersion with our programming guests from

Road Recovery!

History was made this year as Camp Felix moved to Club Getaway, joining Pride, Alma’s, Bryan’s and ABW for the first season with all five East Coast overnight camps together in one location.

Our animation and AV pro, Kyle Warren, volunteered his time for the 8th year at camp and reminded the Felix Fam that perfect is indeed boring!

The Innovoke hat-designing and personal branding workshop had our campers coming up with affirmations like

“Stay imperfectly interesting!” and “Be you!”

What did the teens do this summer? Or rather, what DIDN’T they do?! This season ran the gamut from yoga, to cooking, to an empowerment workshop. Not to mention, dipping their toes into some of the A BroaderWay workshops, like spoken word, dance and theater! Every workshop and activity gave teens opportunities to lead, make healthy choices, and develop independence. What a whirlwind!

We can officially check off our 4th year of Camp Felix Pride—another summer of supporting the lives of LGBTQ+ foster youth! With all of the camps co-located, Pride campers got to participate in all of the great Club Getaway activities along with festivities like dancing, art and community building. For youth, Pride is more than camp; it’s a safe space where identity is celebrated, friendships are built, and confidence

takes root—all while looking fabulous!

Over two days at the end of August, youth from the Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie went to Mills Norrie State Park in Staatsburg, NY.

They successfully did seine and rod & reel fishing trips along the Hudson, did watercolor paintings of the beautiful scenery and got to interact with aquatic life—including a diamond back terrapin named Hiccup—all the while learning about the beauty of nature in and along the Hudson River!

Students from Haven Academy took Long Island by storm this summer season with two amazing trips! Surf This Way out in Long Beach was a huge success as the kids participated in hanging ten with the Skudin Surf & Surf For All crew!

HorseAbility hosted a group of Haven Academy students, a.k.a. Paulie’s Riders, for a day of horseback riding, grooming and feeding…and a visit with a donkey named Waffles!

From surfing to horseback riding, each trip offered youth new experiences that stretched their comfort zones and sparked resilience.

Camp Felix West Happy Trails hosted approximately 125 campers! This year’s theme was “Rooted in character, grow where you’re planted” —planting seeds of resilience, confidence, and community! Campers learned new skills, celebrated each other’s successes, and experienced the happiness of just being kids!

~In-donors are so kind~

We are so thankful to our in-kind donors for their generous contributions this camp season. Their gifts were used to recognize campers’ efforts and celebrate their positive choices. These donations helped us deepen our culture of encouragement and made camp an even more joyful and supportive experience.

We count on friends like you to make these experiences possible! Thank you for your continued

support over the last 20 years!