NYSOEA has a dedicated scholarship fund providing youth an opportunity to experience summer camp. The scholarship honors Brother Yusuf, past NYSOEA member and friend. Money for camperships is raised at the annual conference and regional events through raffles, as well as personal donations. The goal is to raise enough money each year to fund one camper from each NYSOEA region. The NYSOEA Equity, Access & Inclusion Committee, along with the NYSOEA regional board of directors, award the scholarships for campers.
This fund will support an Affiliate organization by allowing them to offer a camp scholarship. To participate, an organization must be a current Affiliate in good standing. Applicants may receive full or partial funding. Applications must be filled out each year for consideration and those funded may not be considered for consecutive seasons if there are multiple applications for the region. Applications will be reviewed based on need and fund availability by NYSOEA regional directors and members of the EAI committee. NYSOEA board of directors and EAI committee members may not be listed as contact persons for an application. Applications from organizations that include NYSOEA board of directors or EAI committee members as staff may not be reviewed by that region’s director; they will be forwarded to the NYSOEA executive Board for approval instead. Awarded funding will be given after the camper has attended camp and a write-up has been submitted to the Board.
Brother Yusuf was a founding member of NYSOEA’s Diversity Committee (now the Equity, Access, and Inclusion Committee) and the coordinator of the DEC’s Capital District Campership Diversity Program. He believed that “Many of today’s children are growing up in busy cities without parks or ‘special places’ to experience the beautiful and awe inspiring. They stand to lose a very important part of what it is to be human.”
2022 Testimonial: It is with much gratitude for the scholarships that you extended to our campers for what became one of the most memorable activities they did all summer. The girls feed off of each other’s strengths and sense of adventure. Neither one knew quite what they’d be doing before their journey. They were filled with questions and nervousness but both vowed to give it their all. When I picked them up, they were tired and drained but filled with a confidence I hadn’t seen before out of them. I appreciate the opportunity you gave each of them to thrive!
Adriyanna and Breauna both attended Reinstein Woods’ Kids in the Woods Summer Camp of 2021. They were a part of the Junior Naturalists group, which consisted of campers from 7th-10th grade. While the sisters enjoyed scooping in the ponds, catching insects, and building the survival shelter together, they even more so enjoyed competing against each other in games such as Capture the Flag. Adriyanna and Breauna brought enthusiasm and energy to the camp that grew with them throughout the week.
Testimonials from Previous Campership Recipients " I would like to go to camp because of the wonderful opportunities I can have and the people I will meet. Along with that, I hope to gain more knowledge about the environment as I am going to be pursuing a degree of either natural resources management or environmental engineering in college." - Mary, 2019 Scholarship recipient, Western Region