PRIDE CAMP - YMCA CAMP CONRAD WEISER
Sponsored Content | April 1, 2025
“What can we do that best represents who Gracie really was?”
This was the question Gracie’s House founders Amy and Jaxon King asked every year since the loss of Gracie in 2018. “We knew we wanted to start some sort of organization in her name, but we couldn’t figure out what it would do,” Amy recalls, “plus, we were still dealing with the grief and tragedy of losing her. We didn’t want to rush something this important.”
They started focusing on the things Gracie loved.
“She loved music,” Jaxon says. “And art and poetry. She was very creative.”
“She loved social issues,” Amy adds, “she wanted to change the world and make it easier for young people to be themselves. She was active in her GSA (gender and sexuality alliance) and was the kind of person who would defend and protect her LGBTQ friends.”
One day in March 2021, Amy and Jaxon went hiking in the snow and found the answer to their question in Pennsylvania nature. “I think we both thought of it at the same time,” Amy says. “We should start a camp.” And PRIDE Camp was born.
PRIDE Camp is a new opportunity at Berks County’s Camp Conrad Weiser to serve LGBTQ+ campers (grades 1-10) in a safe-space, all-gender village where they can form lasting bonds through their shared stories. In addition to customary camp activities and fun, our PRIDE campers will have special daily programming as a group—slam poetry nights, social justice conversations, mindfulness workshops, and writing & arts workshops. “And they’ll have staff from Gracie’s House there with them to make sure they’re in a safe and welcoming space,” Amy says.
“It’s the perfect mix of everything Gracie loved,” Jaxon says. “She was very protective of transgender youth especially—many of whom can’t find summer camps where they feel comfortable.”
“I can’t believe we didn’t think of it sooner,” Amy adds.
From the age of five to fifteen, Gracie loved summer camp. “Every time she went, she came home full of stories about holding snakes, and learning trees, and camping out under the stars,” Amy recalls.
As she got older, she came home with tunes for the ukelele, films she directed, and eventually, songs she wrote that expressed how every time she went to camp, she found herself again. “Those songs were such a joy for me as a parent,” Amy remembers. “She was so happy up there on the mountain. It was like a reset for her.”
Amy and Jaxon are no strangers to the joy of South Mountain YMCA’s Camp Conrad Weiser. Amy worked there as an arts and crafts counselor nearly 40 years ago, and Jaxon attended camp for many years alongside his sister. “I loved the nature programs most,” Jaxon, a future wildlife veterinarian, recalls.
Jaxon is now vice president of the high school GSA, and has seen how life-changing programs like PRIDE Camp can be for LGBTQ+ youth. “Safe spaces are hard to find, especially for kids in small towns and rural areas. And most summer camps made for LGBTQ+ youth have limited space and are in other, faraway states. We wanted to change that.”
Amy called her contacts at Camp Conrad Weiser and in a few short months, they worked out a partnership between Gracie’s House and South Mountain YMCA. “Gracie’s House will provide a discounted rate for all PRIDE Campers, additional scholarship funds for families who need them, as well as specific safe-space training for staff and administration,” she says, “all at an award-winning camp that’s been around since 1948.”
Jaxon says, “Now LGBTQ+ youth can experience camp like I did as a kid.”
Gracie's House believes that every young person deserves a place where they can be their authentic selves without fear of judgment or discrimination. “That's why we're committed to creating environments where LGBTQ+ youth can thrive, express themselves freely, and build meaningful connections with peers and mentors,” Amy says. “We can’t wait to see you on the mountain.”
Donations and PRIDE Camper sponsorships are always welcome. Find out more and view camp FAQs at: www.gracieshouse.com .
Interested in in Registering for Pride Camp? https://www.smymca.org/summer-camps/camp-conrad-weiser-overnight-camp/pride-camp/
