The primary purpose of any summer camp experience is fun, but at Mountain Meadow Ranch, while having loads of fun, we aim for something more.
Our hope is to provide a social environment that enhances our quality program of activities. We work to create an environment that is healthy and safe; where encouragement, laughter and joy are the norm. This provides unlimited opportunities for new experiences, while expanding physical and social skills, and individual growth and development.
With our limited enrollment of 120 campers and a consistently high return rate (+50% return since 1993), a strong sense of family is quickly developed. As part of this family, all campers are invited to join in the mission of creating that positive environment of encouragement, caring and peace.
Mountain Meadow Ranch is so much more than just a summer camp. It’s a place where fears are conquered and identities found. It’s a place where genuine relationships are born and flourish. We teach and practice stewardship, inclusiveness, empathy, encouragement, and integrity as a family. As we celebrate authenticity, we help each other find joy in our uniqueness and encourage all to dance outside their comfort zones.
Servanthood
The heart of MMR flows from servant leadership and the practice of servanthood. Encouraging each individual member to “serve all” in order to create a community that can thrive is the core of our philosophy.
We aim to live out the following character traits:
Taking action to ensure others feel welcome, valued, and cared for. Connection is hardwired into our human DNA, and feeling welcome, included, and accepted is a vital step in establishing connection. This is the foundation of our Servanthood philosophy as the sooner all camper and staff feel included, the sooner we can live and play authentically.
Authenticity is the harmony of representing one's true nature or beliefs; while celebrating the uniqueness of others. It requires vulnerability, transparency, and integrity. At camp, our goal is for all campers and staff to feel free to be their full, authentic selves. It is here that we can best dance outside of our comfort zones.
Empathy at its core is simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating the beautiful message of "you are not alone." Our world needs empathy, and at camp, we get to learn how to do that in safe relationships with forgiveness and understanding when we get it wrong.
Integrity is choosing courage over comfort, choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them. At MMR, campers and staff get to grow in understanding their own values, and how to practice them in kindness.
Stewardship is a call for a purpose larger than oneself, larger than today's drive for material gain. It pays attention to supporting the common good of the community, the earth and people outside your circle. At camp we live in community with others and with nature, this creates a vital environment to learn how important stewardship is.
Sometimes defined as the ability to know what’s happening in your head at any given moment, without getting carried away by it, mindfulness is a vital practice to living in today's world. At camp, without our phones and the constant pressure of social media, we get to reconnect with our inner self and experience mindfulness in an incredibly impactful way.
We end most evenings around the campfire to connect before bedtime. At these times, a Director will discuss one of the above traits further and provide some “food for thought” and encouragement. The most meaningful campfires, however, are those that occur at the end of each week.
