Coming to camp alone is one of the biggest worries we hear from girls. Secret Buddy is the tradition we built to soften that and turn "I don't know anyone" into "Wait, someone's been looking out for me all week?"

Here's how it works.

On Day One, every camper is paired with a Secret Buddy and gets a little "about me" sheet to start learning who their person is. From there, the rest of the week is about paying attention. Leaving a kind note. Noticing what makes someone smile. Sneaking a thoughtful gesture into her day. We encourage imagination, creativity, and the occasional dramatic side-eye.

What looks like a fun game is actually skill practice in disguise. Paying attention to someone else and making her feel special are real friendship skills, and Secret Buddy gives girls five whole days to practice them on purpose.

Underneath the mystery and the guessing (which is half the fun), something quietly shifts. Instead of "Do I fit in?" she starts to feel, "I matter." Instead of waiting to be included, she learns how to include.

On Friday, we close the week with a joyful reveal and a small gift exchange ($5 or less) to celebrate the friendship she's been quietly building all day, every day.

One of the fastest ways girls build confidence? Using their words to lift each other up.

On Day One, each camper decorates her own envelope and tapes it to the window. That little mailbox stays up all week, and anyone can drop a Love Note inside. Notes can be signed or anonymous (this is different from Secret Buddy), and the only rule is to mean it.

Here's something we've learned after five years of camp: most girls don't know how to compliment past "I love your outfit" or "you're so pretty." Sweet, but surface-level. So this year, we're giving girls pre-written prompts they can build on, helping them notice and name what's actually special about someone. How she made everyone laugh at lunch. The courage it took to speak up at temp check. The way she welcomed the new girl on Day One.

It's not random. It's not popularity-based. Behind the scenes, we keep an eye on every envelope so every girl walks out of camp feeling seen.

Here's what matters most: words shape identity.

By the end of the week, your girl will not only know how it feels to receive a love note. She'll know how to give one. That's the real skill she takes home.

Tell a group of girls there's a talent show on Thursday and you'll get the full range. Wide eyes. Side-eyes. A few "are you kidding me?" looks. Most are either terrified or convinced it's going to be cringey.

And then Thursday actually arrives, and it ends up being one of their favorite days of the week.

Here's why. By Day Four, the nerves have settled. They've found their groove, they've found their people, and they walk in excited to be there. They're also a little tired, because growing on the inside is its own kind of workout, so a day where they get to play and put themselves out there is welcomed.

The Talent Show is where everything they've practiced all week shows up in one room. Taking up space. Trying without needing to be perfect. Cheering loudly for the girl on stage instead of comparing themselves to her.

Some sing. Some dance. Some do skits or comedy. Some surprise themselves by stepping up at all.

Here's what matters most: courage.

It's not about what she performs. It's that she chose to step forward, with a roomful of girls who decided to root for her instead of judge her.

The stage fades. The feeling of "I showed up, and I did it" stays with her long after camp ends.

We'll be the first to admit it. We could talk all day. The gift of gab is real around here.

But if camp were five days of just us at the front of the room, we'd be robbing your girl of something we can't give her ourselves. Seeing herself. Some girls might really resonate with us, but some girls might not.

That's where Guest Speakers come in.

Throughout the week, girls hear from entrepreneurs, creatives, athletes, coaches, and trailblazers who've built lives they actually love. The catch? They didn't get there the way the highlight reel suggests. They got there feeling overwhelmed sometimes. Anxious. Doubtful. Like they didn't fit in. And they did the thing anyway.

These aren't polished TED Talks. They're honest conversations about what it actually takes to use your voice, bet on yourself, and define success on your own terms.

Here's what matters most: representation.

There's no single version of what confidence looks like, and there's no single version of what a "successful woman" looks like either. Every speaker walks in with a different background, industry, and story so every girl in the room can find a piece of herself in someone she admires.

Even if she can't see it yet. Especially if she can't see it yet.

One of the most powerful ways girls build confidence? Being seen for what they're actually doing.

Brag Tags are our way of giving high-fives all week long. They're cute little plastic discs girls collect on a lanyard (think friendship bracelets, camp edition) and the magic is in who hands them out. Peer leaders. Other campers. Jill, Mary, and the leadership team. Encouragement doesn't come from one place. It comes from all directions, all week.

We have returning favorites like 'Girls Support Girls' and 'Kindness Matters'. New this year, we've added a Power Tool tag this year that our leadership team will hand out when we catch a girl doing the work of building herself & her skillset.

We've also added daily P.O.W.E.R. tags so the recognition stays new and fresh every single day:

• Monday: Perspective
• Tuesday: Ownership
• Wednesday: Worthiness
• Thursday: Empowerment
• Friday: Reassurance

These tags represent the spirit of the day. So when a girl pauses to consider a friend's point of view on Monday, owns a mistake on Tuesday, or takes up space on Wednesday, she could end the day with something tangible to clip onto her lanyard.

By Friday, every camper walks out wearing visible proof of the courage, effort, and growth she practiced all week. Every girl is recognized. No one is overlooked.

If you walk into camp and hear screaming, laughing, and a stopwatch going off, you've probably stumbled onto a Power Up Challenge.

These are our playful, high-energy moments. They look like games. They build real confidence. Think minute-to-win-it challenges, charades, silly team relays, whatever it takes to get girls trying, leading, and using their voice without overthinking it.

That's the secret: Power Up Challenges are designed to be low-pressure on purpose. When the bar to participate is "this is goofy and we're playing," girls who'd normally hold back step up. They volunteer first. They cheer for their teammates. They put themselves out there in a setting that feels safe to try.

Winners earn a Power Up Challenge brag tag to add to their collection.

Here's what matters most: confidence grows through action. It's built when it's practiced, encouraged, and celebrated, and Power Up Challenges are where all three happen at the same time.