Registration open for Madam President Camp

By Leah Rainwater

Young girls in St. Joseph will have a chance to work on their leadership skills this summer as a camp returns to St. Joseph for its second year.

Madam President Camp is a camp for girls 11-13 years old. It teaches them leadership skills to be able to voice their opinion and get involved.

“They’re kind of learning about themselves and we want them to learn about themselves and to be able to understand that they’re leaders. And so at camp, what they do is they come to camp and they have three days of activities and education,” said Karen Woodbury, the St. Joseph coordinator for Madam President. “And they have five different facilitators and the facilitators talk and teach them about leadership, civic engagement, self-discovery, communication and social civic activism.”

Woodbury said she wants to be able to provide a space for the younger generation to find their voices.

“I think that women are losing their voices,” said Woodbury. “I think that, young girls, especially need to learn that they can. They have something to say, and they need to learn how to say it in a way that people will listen.”

Woodbury said any young girl can be a leader.

“We want them to understand that they have a voice and they can be a leader,” said Woodbury. “And leaders aren’t always the person that you see out front … leaders can be quiet, they can speak up in many different ways and we want them to learn that.”

Registration for the Madam President Camp is open until July 10, 2024, with the camp running from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 15-17.

Woodbury says it’s $150 for all three days of camp.