Summer 2026 Recap!

The 21st season of Camp Felix has officially inspired and energized yet another generation of trailblazers!

Let’s zip through the happenings of Camp Felix 2026 together…

Camp Felix A BroaderWay shined for its second summer up at Club Getaway! A perfect blend of performing arts—spoken word, dance, song writing and theater—and our 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.

Thank you to everyone who came to our Open House to cheer on our campers as they made magic on the Club Getaway stage!

We are grateful to our longtime friend and filmmaker, Bobby Sheehan, for his film workshop featuring interviews with our campers, an amazing exposure to a creative career path for our youth!

In partnership with The NY Foundling, the 21st summer of our traditional Camp Felix featured three fun-filled sessions of classic camp activities. 204 youth across the three sessions had the summer of their lives, exploring nature, building friendships and making lifelong memories! We are beyond proud to officially have over two decades of Camp Felix in the books!

Teens just wanna have fun! This season, our teen campers did all of the traditional camp activities along with yoga and a vision board workshop. They also dipped their toes into the A BroaderWay workshops, like spoken word, dance, and theater that culminated into an amazing talent show! Every workshop and activity gave 31 teens from both camps the opportunity to lead, make healthy choices, and develop independence.

We can officially check off our 5th 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 empowerment workshops. For all 33 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!

Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell brought deep inspiration to Camp Felix Pride this summer during an unforgettable visit with our campers. As a proud advocate for LGBTQ+ youth, he shared his powerful career trajectory from law into politics, noting that he never expected his path to lead to serving the state of Connecticut.  Understanding the profound weight of representation and visibility, Erick spoke openly about how crucial it is for youth to see leaders like themselves in positions of power. Erick’s open, honest dialogue provided our campers with a lasting blueprint of what is possible, proving that their identities are strengths as they navigate their own futures. A big thank you to longtime friend of Felix, Karen Talamelli Cusick, for introducing State Treasurer Russell to us!

We also want to thank those who donated to our Felix Flower Campaign! Your words of encouragement added to the powerful community and connection fostered at Camp Felix Pride! We want to express gratitude to all Felix supporters who have contributed their time and resources to help us build life changing programs for foster youth over the last two decades!

This summer, our Camp Felix day campers embarked on a thrilling maritime adventure aboard the historic Hudson River Sloop Clearwater! This beautiful sailing trip served 39 of our wonderful youth from  Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie and Good Shepherd Services where they were able to receive environmental education. In partnership with Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie, campers also made their way to Garrison, NY to Manitoga/Russel Wright Design Center! A wonderful day in nature featuring a Japanese Tea Ceremony…very zen!

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. Our youth also had some time in the goat corral and paid a visit to the legendary donkey, Waffles!

In total, 39 youths across the board were able to attend these day camps. Thank you to Keaton’s Kids for giving our campers experiences they will remember forever.

From surfing to horseback riding, each trip offered youth new experiences that stretched their comfort zones and sparked resilience. Camp Felix Day Camps aren’t done yet! Fall activities at Fishkill Farms are coming soon!

In partnership with Happy Trails for Kids, Camp Felix West hosted approximately 130 campers! This year’s theme was “Under the Sea: Dive Deep and Discover Your Potential.” Throughout the summer, campers challenged themselves to conquer fears, build confidence, and develop leadership skills through team-building activities and other meaningful camp experiences.

IN-KIND DONORS ARE SO KIND!

We’re so grateful to our incredible in-kind donors for helping make Camp Felix extra special this summer! From camp essentials to stylish accessories and meaningful keepsakes, your generosity helped our campers feel supported, confident, and cared for.

Huge shout out to our partners at Comfort Cases and The Dave Thomas Foundation, who helped us distribute essentials and comforting items to all of our 2026 campers!

A stylish shout-out to iFoster for hooking our youth up with the coolest trucker hats! Our campers rocked their new gear all summer long, looking and feeling good with every sunny adventure.

A special thank you to Risa Cyr and Katie Hope of Beetle & Fred in Beacon, NY, who generously provided beautiful, handcrafted quilts for our Camp Felix Pride campers. Bursting with vibrant colors and made with so much care, these quilts brought comfort, warmth, and a lasting reminder that our youth are supported and celebrated.

And a special thank you to Thomas Buses Inc. for donating transportation services for our campers to get to our programs safely!

We count on friends like you to make these experiences possible!

Help us to make sure we can continue to provide a supportive and caring community to these amazing young people!

In other Felix news…

You can catch our co-founder, Darryl DMC McDaniels, and ABW co-founder, Idina Menzel on billboards around the country through our partnership with Clear Channel Outdoor and the National Summer Learning Association to promote our programming! This campaign represents millions of dollars of donated advertising space, helping us spread our mission nationwide!