Camp SOAR · 5th & 6th grade

Hope flies high when we rise together.

Five days of service, STEM and leadership that end with every camper launching a Young Changemaker Project of their own.
Contact Us For Information

Camp SOAR · 5th & 6th grade

Hope flies high when we rise together.

Five days of service, STEM and leadership that end with every camper launching a Young Changemaker Project of their own.
Contact Us For Information

Grades

5th & 6th

Length

5 days · 9:30–2:30

Plus

Saturday showcase

Camper sponsorship

$50 sends one

What SOAR stands for

See it. Understand it. Do something about it.

Camp SOAR empowers students to see Service Opportunities, become Aware of how they can help, and be Ready to act with kindness, courage and purpose.

Each day pairs a story from the Berlin Airlift with a build, a book and a block of deep project work. By Friday, campers aren’t talking about service in the abstract — they’re presenting something they made and delivered.

Attitude

Hope begins with mindset — the smile at the Tempelhof fence before anything else.

Gratitude

Children who never begged, and a pilot who noticed. Gratitude is practiced daily, out loud.

Service before self

The Changemaker Project isn’t a worksheet. Students carry it out in their own community.

The week

Five days, one project

Every day runs the same rhythm — opening circle, movement, workshop, literacy, project block, reflection — so campers always know where they are and what comes next.

DAY 1

Attitude & Gratitude

A food pantry simulation, encouragement notes, and the first read of Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot.

Two-Stick Challenge: one visible act of kindness, one secret one.

DAY 2

Dream Big & Leadership

Design thinking for service, the Runway Tower build, and formation flight with paper airplanes they engineer themselves.

Two-Stick Challenge: help someone else succeed.

DAY 3

Courage & Innovation

Parachute engineering — build, test, collect data — plus service bravery scenarios and the innovation gauntlet.

Two-Stick Challenge: invent a kindness using only what you have.

Day 4

A Deinfition of Hope

Local firefighters, police and city leaders visit. Campers craft Parachutes of Hope and paint the SOAR mural.

Two-Stick Challenge: write a note of hope to someone who needs it.

DAY 5

Impact — Showcase Day

A parachute message drop, then every camper presents their Changemaker Project. Families welcome.

Two-Stick Challenge: set one summer service goal.

SATURDAY

Young Changemakers Celebration

Students carry out their service projects in the community, then return for the evening showcase and the Challenge Coin ceremony.

A day at camp

The good stuff protected from 9:30 to 2:30

9:30–9:50

Opening circle — theme, story, intention

9:50–10:15

Movement block — high-energy, team-based

10:15–10:55

Workshop / STEM build

10:55–11:15

Literacy & reflection

11:15–12:10

Changemaker Project — deep work

12:10–1:00

Lunch, then movement reset

1:00–2:05

Project block two & creative application

2:05–2:30

Closing circle & Two-Stick Challenge

The Two-Stick Challenge

Find something as ordinary as two sticks of gum.

Before his next flight over Berlin, Gail Halvorsen tied two sticks of gum to handkerchief parachutes and wiggled his wings so the children would know which plane was his. Those two sticks were split among dozens of kids — some shared only the scent on the wrappers.

Every camp day closes with a challenge built on that idea. Campers take them home, and most families end up doing them together.

The Legacy Question

Two sticks of gum are still inspiring people 75 years later. What could you do this week that keeps flying long after you?

The Two-Stick Challenge

Use something that costs almost nothing to make someone’s day noticeably brighter. What will you choose, and how will you deliver it?

Multiplying Your Efforts

Two sticks became tons of candy because others joined in. Who could you invite so your act grows bigger than you?

Wiggle Your Wings

How will you add a personal touch — a note, a smile, a signal — so the person knows it was meant just for them?

Even If They Can't Thank You

Do one kindness the person may never trace back to you. How does it feel to drop a parachute when nobody sees you?