Welcome to Camp Felix Getaway!
For the past twelve summers, The Felix Organization has had the special privilege of hosting Camp Felix for hundreds of children from the NYC foster care system.
In that time, 55 former campers have become counselors-in-training, volunteers, or paid staff members. Since the beginning, Camp Felix has given our children the chance to leave behind their difficult circumstances and gain independence, make new friends and explore the natural world at our campus in Putnam Valley, New York.
As always, our mission is to continue providing new experiences and inspiring opportunities for children in foster care.
In that spirit, we launched a new Camp Felix East (Felix Getaway) for teen girls hosted at Club Getaway in Kent, Connecticut this August. 12 young women from the New York City Foster Care system spent 5 days in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains for a truly memorable experience!
These girls reside in a residence operated by Good Shepherds Services, one of New York City’s largest child welfare agencies. Because of the instability of life in foster care, they are unlikely to have an opportunity to leave the hot summer streets of their neighborhoods. Camp Felix gave them that opportunity!
The girls were accompanied by Good Shepherd staff and our program coordinator (and former Camp Felix counselor), Tiffany Araya, who served as Camp Director for the first time!
On the first night, the girls jumped on stage for Karaoke and busted their best moves at a dance party. Throughout the week, they participated in several thrilling adventure activities including ziplining, a ropes course, and rock climbing. Many of the girls and staff ziplined for the first time! Every single day was jam packed with exciting action that allowed the girls to forget their daily troubles. One girl stated, “this experience...took some edge off and helped me relax.”
We are excited to expand our Camp Felix program to provide even more children in foster care with beautiful and life changing experiences. We are looking forward to hosting Felix Getaway for teens again next year!
