Want the experience of a lifetime? Want to learn how to change the world? Think you’re a leader? Or maybe you want to be a leader. Want to meet other fantastic youth from the Northeast who give a spit about their communities? Want a place where you can kick-back and just be YOURSELF?
Apply to be a delegate at 2012 ANYTOWN. Program is open to all between the ages of 15-18. Financial aid is available to ALL who apply and are accepted.
Click here for August ANYTOWN Brochure 2012
Click here for August ANYTOWN Delegate Application 2012
Want to be a counselor at ANYTOWN cause you finally figured out what can make a hippopotamus smile? Counselors must have attended ANYTOWN previously. Adults (teachers, school counselors, college students, youth workers, etc.) who would like to serve as advisors do not need to have attended ANYTOWN previously.
Click here for August ANYTOWN STAFF Application
Don’t take our word for it, see what Charlie Hoberman had to say about ANYTOWN below. Or just google ANYTOWN on youtube and see what pops up!
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My ANYTOWN Experience
Charlie Hoberman May 2010 ANYTOWN
Charles Hoberman, Hall High School
I applied to ANYTOWN to learn a little about prejudice and diversity. I’ve always considered myself a socially aware person, especially in regards to discrimination, so I figured I’d fit in at a camp looking for “youth who are interested in exploring their own social identities and biases.” I ended up learning a whole lot more than a “little.” ANYTOWN not only opened my eyes in so many ways that I never expected, but it inspired me to actually do something with my newfound knowledge.
Prior to camp, I saw segregation occurring around me daily. I observed black kids sitting together at lunch and white kids hanging out with each other in hallways, but never really did much about it. I tried to surround myself with different types of people, and still do today, but besides that I never really tried to make a change. In fact, today I would classify myself more as “part of the problem,” then the “solution.” I thought it was cool to call things “retarded” and even laughed when my friends said some pretty racist things. ANYTOWN completely changed that aspect of me. On top of that, I was a fairly quiet kid, who spoke only when spoken to and never really made much of a stir. I would hardly call myself a “leader,” and I highly doubt anyone else would either. ANYTOWN changed that too.
So what makes ANYTOWN so life changing? I’m still not quite sure. Kelly and Muneer are amazing, of course, and so are all the rest of the staff and advisors. But what really made ANYTOWN for me, I believe, were my fellow delegates. I’m not sure how they did it, but the group that Kelly and Muneer managed to round up was simply amazing. Everyone was so open to new ideas and different people, and if they weren’t at the beginning of camp they certainly were by the end. I never thought a camp with such a strong goal and message to send would be such a blast, but it really was.
Looking through the post evaluation forms from the May camp which I attended, I’d say something like ninety-eight percent of respondents marked that they would like to attend a similar program again. Some mentioned that ANYTOWN “opened my mind to the rest of the world’s cultures and ideas/beliefs,” while others said they “made lifelong friends in 5 days.” When asked what they would do to improve the camp, the most common responses were to make it longer and to allow for more time to sleep, while one eager delegate suggested that he needed to be added to the staff. I know this is supposed to be a personal reflection on my experience, but one of the most crucial things to me was that everyone there sincerely enjoyed camp. That’s why such a great community was formed in which such growth could be fostered, prejudices crushed, fun could be had and friendships could be formed.
*This essay was written by Charlie in 2007. Since then Charlie has graduated from New York University and continues to support the ANYTOWN community as well as be involved in various social justice activities.
The YES! Campaign 