CAMP DIVA is a non-profit organization that provides summer and after school programs geared toward helping girls ages 11-17 through the various issues they face during their passage into womanhood. Although our programs do have an emphasis on African American culture, girls of all ethnic backgrounds can benefit from our programs.

The CAMP DIVA Summer Retreat costs $500 per girl (some field trips may carry an extra cost-parents will be notified in advance if this is the case); CAMP DIVA After School programs are free; The CAMP DIVA DIVAPreneurship program costs $250 per girl.

Our Summer Retreat is based at the East District Family Resource Center, 2405 Jefferson Avenue, Richmond, VA. Our after school programs are at various sites (public schools and community centers).

Our Summer Retreat is based in Richmond, Virginia, but girls from all over Central Virginia are welcome. Our After School programs currently serve Richmond public schools (North Side/South Side), Henrico public schools, and Petersburg public schools.

No more than 25 girls per Summer Retreat or After School Program

You can help CAMP DIVA by leading or facilitating a workshop for our Summer Retreat of After School program, coaching a Girls For A Change after school program, becoming a mentor, volunteering for one of our special events, serving on a CAMP DIVA committee, providing administrative support, sending a girl to camp, sponsoring an after school program, hosting a fundraiser, donating in-kind goods or services, sponsoring a field trip, or making a donation of any amount.

The CAMP DIVA Summer Retreat is a summer camp for girls ages 11-14 that focuses on character development, relationship building, cultural enrichmond and traditions, practical life skills and social skills, career enrichment and leadership development, social change and community service, and health fitness and nutrition, and HIV, STD and Unplanned Pregnancy Prevention (for appropriate age groups). These areas are focused on through workshops, hands-on activities and other unique experiences. The camp also includes field trips, activities custom-fit for each girl. Lunch is provided each day.

The program runs for five weeks (Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.).

CAMP DIVA features workshops, hands on activities, field trips, and various unique experiences. Workshops focus on etiquette training; personal grooming and hygiene; self image; financial literacy; fitness and nutrition; character development; leadership; abstinence, prevention (STDs, HIV and teen pregnancy), and sex education (age appropriate); and more. Our hands on activities and unique experiences include sisterhood bonding activities; a girls' circle; service learning projects; team building activities; knitting, sewing and jewelry making; filmmaking; creating skin care products; audio recording/radio broadcasting; cultural enrichments (with special emphasis on African and African American culture); and technology projects, as well as traditional activities like swimming, sports, and crafts.

Girls should wear shorts (no shorter than slightly above the knee), closed toe shoes or sneakers (recommended for safety due to everyday activities), shirts that cover the entire torso (no revealing of back or stomach). We ask that our girls not wear any clothing with disruptive language or messages, nor halter tops, slippers, pajamas, or any jewelry. If girls choose to wear earrings, we recommend they are posts. Hair should be worn in appropriate styles that are manageable for summer (no scarves, bonnets or doo rags). Fingernails should be of a manageable length as girls will be using their hands for various activities.

Each day, girls should bring a water bottle, snack, bag lunch (if girls elect not to eat provided lunch), feminine hygiene products, camp diva shirt for field trips, personal spending money for field trips, a light jacket or sweater (to deal with varying indoor temperatures), and a yoga mat.

Call CAMP DIVA at 804-852-4385.

2012 Registration for our Summer Retreat will start soon and ends in June. Summer Retreat Orientations are Saturdays, March 31 & April 28, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. at The East District Family Resource Center 2405 Jefferson Ave Richmond Va 23223.

We invite parents and daughters to attend an Open House in the late Spring so they may fully understand what the camp is all about. Girls are required to write a one page essay detailing why they want to be in CAMP DIVA, what qualities they will bring to the camp, and what they want to get out of it. This essay must accompany their registration form and a $25 non-refundable fee.

July 9, 2012 - August 10, 2012

At least 1 staff member for every 12 girls

Yes, we urge donors to sponsor a girl for the entire summer camp experience, but donations of any amount are always welcome.

We have an all female staff (when a male guest speaker is present, our staff are always present to supervise). Our staff members are generally over the age of 21, but may include college students as counselors; they have backgrounds in psychology, social work, human services, divinity, education, women's studies and African studies; and our staff is adequately trained in our curriculum, CPR, First Aid, listening skills, program management, team building, and asset building.

Yes, we urge donors to sponsor a girl for the entire summer camp experience, but donations of any amount are always welcome.

CAMP DIVA offers Girls For A Change (for middle and high school girls), Sisters of Nia (for middle school girls); and Girls Circle (for middle school girls).

In the fall and spring semesters (12 weeks each), meeting one day a week for two hours.

John Marshall High School, George Wythe High School, Martin Luther King Middle School, and Elkhardt Middle School in Richmond, Virginia; Highland Springs High School in Henrico County, Virginia; and Friends Association for Children in Richmond, Virginia.

Contact the Community in Schools Coordinator at the school, or the Program Director at the community center/site.

Our after school programs offer a rites of passage curriculum, a social change curriculum, sisterhood bonding, and group activities (including a support group for girls), all depending on which program you choose.

DIVApreneurship is a leadership academy offered to girls ages 14-17, which teaches them specific skills in the culinary arts, cosmetology, technology, and fashion. Girls will earn certifications in some areas, as well as community service hours. They will also be prepared to continue their education, and even receive stipends for some experiences. Stipends are paid based on job placement, as well as participation, attitude, and commitment to job.

DIVApreneurship offered during the summer.

Look for a link on our website. Once they apply, girls will be interviewed.

The Date with Dad Dinner and Dance is an event that invites fathers and father figures, and their daughters of every age, to come out for an evening of dinner, dancing, and fun, to benefit Camp Diva. The goal of the event is not only to foster better communication between fathers and daughters, and provide a place for them to spend some all-important quality time, but also to demonstrate the importance of the father-daughter relationship and show that despite the high rates of father absence in Richmond, there are fathers who are active in their daughters' lives.and loving it!

Sunday, March 18, 2012, 4:30-8 p.m., at the Cultural Center of India, 6641 Iron Bridge Parkway, Chester, VA. 23831

Friday/December 2011 (Tickets are non-refundable). They will be sold through our website.

You may purchase a table, sponsor a father-daughter couple, buy an ad in our souvenir booklet, donate items to be raffled off during the event, bring your team to volunteer, sponsor a portion of the dance (our meal, beverages, dessert, hors d'ouevres).

Please check our calendar for upcoming special events as many come along during the course of the year.