… it genuinely helps them lead better lives. We know that the Encampment experience really gets under their skins. Most important, it helps a young adult, feel identified with America and with its heritage, and understand- he has a personal stake in it.”
—William Shannon, former EFC Director

Encampers established their own government and were guided toward socio-political activism, a sense of civic responsibility and participation — all in an environment that supported tolerance and diversity.

“I’ve gained a better understanding of rural poverty, race relations, and just how to get along with people. I have lost many of my stereotypes and have learned to accept people as individuals. I have learned that to get something done, one has to get out and work for it and not just talk about it.”
—a small town Ohioan

“It was a joyful wonderful summer for me. For …weeks we acted like brothers and sisters. We learned new languages, faced new problems. I hope in years to come, I will be in close contact with you all. Thanks to everyone who helped make it possible.”
—a teen from Brooklyn

When the program was attacked by McCarthyite forces in the early 1950s, she defended it vigorously.

“The reason I think these Encampments are so important is that they are attended by citizens of different races and groups. They prepare people for thinking in terms of all people and not in terms of a selected few. Not only we in the U.S., but people all over the world, need young people trained to be good citizens with an ability to think with an open mind.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt

The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was a supporter and speaker at the Encampment. John F. Kennedy linked the Encampment with the development of vital citizenship skills and with the Peace Corps. William Haddad, EFC alum (1950) was director under Sargent Shriver at the Peace Corps and O.E.O. and had this to say: “Many of us conceive of the Peace Corps as an expansion of some of the ideas outlined at the Encampment.”

Eleanor Holmes Norton, civil rights activist and long standing Congresswoman (DC), is an alum of the 1957 Encampment.  She says the Encampment is “one of the most significant models for getting young people seriously and thoughtfully involved in public policy and matters of local and national importance. I will never forget my own experience as a young person eager for discovery of the issues at that time.”

Encampers lived democratic principles and made history during Jim Crow segregation:

“I was a member of the Encampment in 1966, at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. It was a powerful moment in our country’s history, and it all swirled around us, even in a small college setting. My experience opened my eyes, filled my heart and confirmed my commitment to make working for social change the center of my life. And I know—without a moment’s hesitation—that the experience I had at the Encampment for Citizenship in 1966 was one of the most important formative events of the commitments I have to this day”.
— Miles S. Rapoport, former president, Demos and Common Cause

Locations included the New York City Metropolitan area; Puerto Rico; Berkeley, CA; Arizona; Louisville, KY; Mexico; Great Falls, MT; Denver, CO; Washington, DC; Navajo Nation, Tohatchi, NM; and the Adirondacks. The program site often influenced the focus of a given Encampment. For example, the Adirondacks program emphasized conservation and environmental issues, while the Denver, CO and White Plains, NY Encampments focused more on urban social issues.

Various studies have shown that the program succeeded in inspiring its participants in many ways.

“The richness and vividness of the camper’s personal experiences are inescapable. Overall satisfaction is indicated by the willingness of five campers out of six to recommend the Encampment to someone like themselves. . . Changes which trainees most frequently saw in themselves were increases in tolerance and understanding, in maturity, in independence, and in activism… Friendships to an extraordinary extent crosscut class lines. . . – Almost three-fourths of the campers said they want to be in touch with other campers ‘frequently’.”
—Herbert Hyman, Columbia University School of Applied Research Evaluation (See also Further Reading)

It was followed by seven successful 3-week programs in Chicago, IL; Amherst, MA; Tougaloo and Raymond, MS; Camarillo, CA and virtual in 2020.

“Growing up, I got one perspective, but in the Encampment, I got to see what peers from different backgrounds are doing and feeling. It’s one thing to hear about Black Lives Matter in social media, but it’s so powerful when you hear what people are really going through — it changes you as a person.” — Moncerrat, 2020 Encamper, 2020-21 PFSP intern