Who we are and what we do Camp Fire USA Alaska Council’s programs build caring, confident youth and future leaders through school-based child care, community centers in low- income neighborhoods, resident and day camps and a rural Alaska program that brings camp counselors to remote villages for summer programs. All programs provide a safe, nurturing and enriching environment in which youth grow and learn. Camp Fire serves over 5,000 youth each year, with over 1,200 participants in our School Age Child Care program each day. Many youth also spend their summers with us through day camps, residential camps and our Rural Alaska Program. Not only do youth benefit from the agency's programs, but families are supported through year-round programming and the addition of trained, caring adult mentors in the lives of their children. VISION STATEMENT Every child will have an opportunity to discover the best in themselves and others in a fun and safe learning environment. MISSION STATEMENT We build caring, confident youth and future leaders. VALUE STATEMENTS Camp Fire USA Alaska Council makes these commitments to Alaska's youth and families, the communities we serve, our staff and each other: .• Camp Fire USA builds caring relationships. • Camp Fire USA provides Alaska's youth with positive experiences which promote healthy life choices. • Camp Fire USA embraces diversity and inclusiveness in all of its endeavors. • Camp Fire USA provides outdoor programs which foster competence, stewardship and joy with the natural world. • Camp Fire USA strives towards excellence through innovation. • Camp Fire USA operates quality programs which reflect best practices. • Camp Fire USA acts as a trustworthy organization that ensures experiences which are safe, secure and dependable. GUIDING PRINCIPLES .• Camp Fire recognizes that it is the children who are the primary consideration in any Camp Fire activity. • As Camp Fire explores options for growth and new programming, Camp Fire recognizes children thrive best when the child to adult ratio is low and will promote small group efforts where ever possible. • Camp Fire will strive for high quality in every youth development program it offers and provide the highest level of support possible to the agency's staff. • Camp Fire as an agency advocates for quality youth programming.

CAMP FIRE USA ALASKA COUNCIL HISTORY

The Beginning

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Dr. Luther Gulick Alaska Camp Fire Girls Juneau Falls, 1914

Camp Fire was founded in 1910 by Luther Gulick, M.D., and his wife, Charlotte Gulick, as the first nonsectarian, interacial national organization for girls in the United States. Shortly after the national agency was formed, Edith Kempthorne (from New Zealand) started Alaska's first Camp Fire club in Juneau in 1913 as part of a national movement to extend the Camp Fire model through the “Guardians of the Fire” program. Camp Fire was one of the first youth organizations in Alaska. Edith was soon hired as the first field secretary of the national office, in part due to her “frequent and lively” letters from Juneau. In 1916 she returned to assist Camp Fire’s founder and the group of volunteers operating sporadically through the 20’s and 30’s in Sitka, Wrangell, Nenana, Bethel, Kodiak, Homer, Cordova and Juneau. In 1959, the first official Camp Fire council began operating as The Chugach Council of Anchorage, serving 350 girls through Camp Fire clubs. Camp Fire started Camp Yalani at King’s Lake Camp in Wasilla in 1960 and offered two one-week sessions each summer for girls.

The Alaska Council Takes Shape

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Joan Hurst, the Alaska Council’s first executive director, arrived in 1962. Camp Si-La-Meo, Camp Fire’s day camp program, was the first formal program launched in 1963. In 1964, following the earthquake, Camp Fire Alaska Council received national support from Camp Fire’s friendship fund. The local volunteers gathered supplies and went to villages that had been impacted by the quake. In Seward, a day camp was established that provided activities for any girl who wished to come. Ninety-five girls attended, in a week of pouring rain, to engage in Camp Fire’s programs of cooking, hiking, creative arts and an overnight camping trip. The children’s parents, relieved of the responsibilities of child care, were able to devote their full energy to cleanup and reconstruction. This was the beginning of the Council's Rural Alaska Program.

Joan Hurst cooks up some "Gypsy Stew"

Camp Fire USA Alaska Council Today

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In 1966 Camp Kushtaka was officially born from the many volunteer hours spent securing land permits, constructing buildings and clearing land. As Alaska entered the 1970's and 80's, and more parents began working full-time outside the home, the problem of unsupervised children in our communities became a critical issue. Along with the population boom created by the pipeline construction there was a rapid growth in the numbers of “latchkey” children. Children were often left unsupervised after school hours. Hurst and others had a critical role in making the case for quality child care to the Alaska State legislature, and created the Child Care Assistance Program to assist working families with child care expenses. School Age Child Care became a major program for the Council. The Community Centers Program was started in 1978 by a team of Social Work students in the Fairview and Mountain View neighborhoods in Anchorage. The purpose of the program was to provide safe, free and nurturing after-school alternatives to youth in low-income neighborhoods. Today, Camp Fire USA Alaska Council operates three community center programs in Anchorage.

 

Agency Directors

CEO Barbara Dubovich 257-8806 e-mail	Director of Program Services Nicole Lebo 257-8802 e-mail	Director of Operations Michael Miller 257-8822 e-mail
Director of Finance Carla Stephenson 257-8817 e-mail	Director of Marketing and Development Joanne Phillips 257-8819 e-mail

Board of Directors 2011

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President Barbara Rosetti 1st Vice President Barbara Henjum 2nd Vice President John Gliva Secretary Joe Darnell Treasurer Don Rulien President Emeritus Ken Lord

Directors Jamie Abordanado Ray Dinger Barbara Dubovich, CEO Nichole Gifford Monica Kane Jill Klein Michael Kreger Carol Richards Tammy Sandoval Steve Theno

Publications

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2003 Annual Report (PDF) 2004 Annual Report (PDF) 2005 Annual Report (PDF) 2006 Annual Report (PDF) 2007 Annual Report (PDF) 2008 Annual Report (PDF) 2009 Annual Report (PDF)