A Brief History

Ø      Founded in 1910 as the Camp Fire Girls, the organization became coeducational in 1975 and changed its name to the Camp Fire Boys & Girls. In August of 2001, the organization changed its name to Camp Fire USA in an effort to communicate the organization’s relevance and its diversity.

Ø      Since 1913, Camp Fire USA Lone Star Council has served the children of Dallas. Now serving over 5,000 youth and their families each year, Camp Fire USA programs directly reach the following counties: Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Kaufman and Rockwall Counties, and parts of Denton (Flower Mound, Lewisville and The Colony).

Ø      Governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, Camp Fire USA is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization funded by generous individuals, local businesses, corporations, foundations and the United Way.

Ø      Camp Fire USA Lone Star Council achieves its mission of “building caring, confident youth and future leaders” through informal, educational programs that utilize national curricula and the Search Institute’s research on Developmental Assets.

Ø      Since May 8, 1939, Camp Fire USA has provided children and their families with the opportunity to receive an outdoor education at the 65-acre camping facility, Camp Ellowi (in the Cedar Hill area of Dallas County).

Ø      In 1977, the council started Central Dallas Day Camp for children from low-income families in collaboration with the Junior League of Dallas.  The camp became Chi Omega Day Camp in 1999, when an endowment was funded by Chi Omega Christmas event.

Ø      In 1986, the council began its KIDTALK program. Since then, it has responded to well over 150,000 calls from children who are home alone and need a kind, caring friend to speak to.

Ø      In 1986, the council started The Lake Highlands After-school Program in collaboration with Lake Highlands United Methodist Church and the Dallas Park and Recreation Department. This was the council’s first venture into providing inexpensive, licensed child care for school children, including field trips, sports, and arts and crafts, with some scholarships available. 

Ø      In 1987, the council opened the Hillburn Hills Afterschool Program, a free after-school and summer drop-in center for over 300 latchkey children from low-income families. Named the 361^st Point of Light by President Bush in 1991, this program became the foundation for the Kids Club program (which currently operates almost thirty sites based on the model started at Hillburn Hills).

Ø      In 1990, the council began a “Teens in Action” program called the SAFUR Challenge, which helped at-risk youth avoid gang and drug involvement by teaching community responsibility, leadership and basic life skills in a small, co-ed group setting.

Ø      In 1991, the Alternative Education After-school Program began service at the Hillburn Hills Community Center. This program provides tutorial assistance, remedial education and individual and family peer counseling for 10 to 17 year olds referred by the Dallas County Juvenile Probation Department.  Named “best program of its kind” in 1998 by the county juvenile department.

Ø      The council joined the Richardson ISD Extended Day Program in 1994. The program offers enrichment programs for children attending RISD schools, in collaboration with the Girl Scouts, YWCA, and the Richardson Youth Services Council.

Ø      In 1994, “A Gift of Giving” service learning projects began for grades K-6. These programs teach community service and volunteerism as ways for children to give back to their community.

Ø      In 1998, the United Way requested the expansion of the Kids Club program (which then served 7 sites). The council had 16 sites running by the time that the United Way had requested 14 sites.

Ø      In 2001, the council approved a new Strategic Plan that calls for the concentration of resources on the Kids Club after-school program, as well as plans for the redevelopment of Camp Ellowi to support the needs of children from low-income families.

Ø      In 2001, the Kids Club program was named “the official provider of after school care” for the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas. That same year, the program also began collaborations with the Dallas Housing Authority in the service of several extremely low-income apartment communities. The program has since grown to serve almost thirty communities throughout Dallas.

Ø      In 2001, the council received a $350,000/year award from the 21^st Century Community Learning Center contract. This contract  enables the council to provide after school programs to youth in ten schools from the Dallas Independent School District

Ø      In 2002, the council received a $340,000/year award from the Work Source for Dallas County to start a Teens in Action program that provides youth with career skills and job opportunities through an adaptation of Camp Fire USA’s traditional curriculum. The success of this program's first year allowed the council to increase second-year funding to $726,081