During the week, campers will participate in numerous creative activities focused on using photography, poetry, art, design, and storytelling approaches to create a story that highlights their interests, their talents, their goals, and their culture/heritage as Appalachians. We will use a “Hands, Head, Heart, Home” model as Campers take part in supervised photography walks around downtown Wise, create poems and spoken word, collaborate with each other to design unique art, interview family members for stories about the past, family recipes, etc., and much more! At the end of the camp week, your child will have the opportunity to present their work at a community-wide Gallery Event + Reception.

All activities are centered around youth development best practices and aligned with VA Standards of Learning for Secondary Education.

At the end of the camp week, participants will showcase their creative works in a town-wide Gallery Event + Reception to be held at Gather@411, located at 411 East Main St. This event is free and open to the public! We want everyone to see the power of youth voice and celebrate the creativity of our kids!

Thanks to our wonderful community supporters, there is NO COST to attend! This camp, including all camp activities, snacks, all activity materials, and an end-of-camp Gallery Event+Reception for family and friends is 100% free of charge!!

Camp will be held at the Gather@411 Event Space, 411 East Main St., in downtown Wise. There is ample parking located at the site, or you may drop-off/pick-up in front of the building each day.

Transportation is not provided. If possible, we ask that campers bring their own lunch but we will have all the fixin’s for sandwiches, chips, and drinks for lunch each day.

Dr. Hall will be at the camp as early as 8:30am each day for drop-off and pick-up is no later than 3:30pm each day.

If your child is walking to camp, please send a note from the parent/guardian on the first day of camp to confirm.

The Photovoice Storytelling Camp is for ANY youth in 5th-12th grade residing in Wise County or the City of Norton. This camp is inclusive and all abilities are welcomed! No experience or special skills are needed. We just ask that your child shows up on time each day with a positive attitude, ready to learn, grow, and have a ton of fun!

This is a storytelling camp using photography so your child will need to bring a digital camera or a cell phone with camera to camp each day. Nothing fancy or specialized required…but we will be downloading the photos to a computer to display at the Gallery Event so please make sure you are able to email or text the photos from the device. IMPORTANT NOTE: Privacy is of the utmost importance! During camp activities, your child will never be asked to take photos of people and no photo taken by your child will be displayed or posted to social media/our website without express written permission by the parent/guardian.

*Please let us know on the registration form if your camper does not have access to a camera or phone camera and we will make sure they have one to use during the camp week!

Dr. Amanda Hall, founder of Empower Action, LLC., is an award-winning educator and community change-maker with over 20 years of experience working with middle school, high school, and university students. She has served as an educator for VA State Parks and The Science Museum of Virginia, a middle school teacher with Henrico County Public Schools (Richmond, VA), a faculty member and administrator at Virginia Commonwealth University, and has created and led many summer camps with youth and toung adults from across the state. Dr. Hall holds a Masters degree in Environmental Education and a PhD in Education with an emphasis on youth voice and service learning. You can rest assured that your child will be safe, engaged, and encouraged during camp. Dr. Hall has been recognized by the US Army as a community change-maker, recognized by the VA Jaycees as Outstanding Virginian of the Year, named to the Richmond Top 40 under 40 list, and the recipient of several regional and national teaching and community engagement awards, including the REB Award for Teaching Excellence. She has a passion for cultivating the next generation of Appalachian leaders and as a Pikeville, KY native and former UVA-WISE Cavalier, the youth of our region are of special importance.