The planning team adopted a mission, vision and values statement as a draft policy, effective the first day of camp. It is short enough to post on a board.
Mission. To engage, educate and empower youth through service-based, relevant learning in construction, culinary, public affairs/public information and emergency response services, preparing them for high-demand, high-wage careers while addressing needs in their local communities.
Vision. To foster the next generation of skilled professionals and create sustainable, future-focused emergency response and community disaster readiness and recovery systems for a stronger, more resilient nation.
Values. Accessibility. Action. Authenticity. Community impact. Continuous improvement. Courageous conversations. Safety and wellness. Seek understanding and remain teachable. We are one.
How the values showed up. Many of the camp’s design choices trace back to that list. Accessibility is why the camp is free to students. Action and authenticity are why the work is real and the classroom time short. Community impact is why the units leave on trailers. Safety and wellness is the incident commander’s one rule. “Seek understanding and remain teachable” is listen to learn, learn to teach in other words. Continuous improvement and courageous conversations describe the after-action review, which was candid about what went wrong. “We are one” is the mixed villages, where students from different schools and regions work as a single team.
Adapting it. Match the career areas in the mission to the villages you actually offer; a region that adds wildfire, forestry or public works should say so. Keep the commitment to community need, which is what separates the camp from a skills competition. And adopt the statement formally, as the 2026 team did, so it can settle arguments about priorities before camp rather than during it.