Youth Leadership Camp

The Youth Leadership Camp (YLC) is an annual four-week leadership program for deaf high school students which has been operating in the United States as a non-profit organization for nearly four decades.

Youth Leadership Camp activities are conducted in American Sign Language. YLC programs stress personal responsibility and accountability, organizational skills, team building, higher education and employment in its mission of scholarship, leadership and citizenship among deaf youth.

The YLC is accredited by the American Camp Association and is associated with the Lions Club in the states of Oregon and Washington.

Eligibility
Youth Leadership Camp applicants are evaluated in terms of academic standing, character, leadership potential, and involvement in school and community. Applicants must submit an essay and letters of recommendation in a process similar to selective college admission procedures.

YLC Locations

 * 1969: Pine Lake Camp in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania in The Poconos
 * 1970-1989: Swan Lake Lodge in Pengilly, Minnesota
 * 1990-2002: Camp Taloali in Stayton, Oregon
 * 2003: Camp Lakodia in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
 * 2004: Sertoma Camp Endeavor in Dundee, Florida near Winter Haven
 * 2005-present: Camp Taloali in Stayton, Oregon

Sponsors
Sponsors of deaf youth leadership programs such as the YLC include:
 * California State University, Northridge and its National Center on Deafness
 * Communication Service for the Deaf
 * Gallaudet University and its Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center
 * Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf
 * National Association of the Deaf (United States)
 * Rochester Institute of Technology and its National Technical Institute for the Deaf

Other programs
Other deaf youth leadership programs, most or all of which (like YLC) also accept eligible hearing siblings of deaf youth and hearing children of deaf adults, include:
 * Space Camp and Aviation Challenge for the Deaf - sponsored by the United States Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama in partnership with the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. Founded in 1986 at the instigation of Dr. John Tiffany of the Talladega, Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.  2007 is the 20th anniversary session.
 * Camp Hero in Millville, Pennsylvania - part of the graduate program in education at the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.
 * Leadership School at Michigan State University - co-sponsored by the Michigan Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MADHH)
 * Explore Your Future (EYF) career exploration program - sponsored by RIT's National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID).
 * Cue Sign Camp - NTID program in development in 2007.