Founded: In 1910 as Camp Fire Girls, by Dr. Luther Gulick and his wife, Charlotte Gulick, to provide for girls what the Boy Scouts of America provided for boys. “Camp” denoted the focus on outdoor activities, while “fire” symbolized the home.
Mission: “Building caring, confident youth and future leaders.”
Location: Kansas City, Mo.
Structure: Local units are overseen by 80 councils throughout the United States.
Employees: 3,429 full-time, including staff members at the councils.
Volunteers: Nearly 10,000.
Youth Served: More than 300,000 in 2009.
Annual Budget: $60 million, including the councils.
CEO: Pamela Wilcox, interim.
Contact: (816) 285-2010, http://www.campfireusa.org.
Anniversary Celebration: The key event will be July 31, when councils will light ceremonial campfires at 7:30 p.m. in each time zone.
Notable Moments:
• 1910 – First meetings of Camp Fire Girls are held in Vermont.
• 1912 – Incorporated as a national agency in Washington, D.C.
• 1918 – The first local Camp Fire council is formed in Kansas City, Mo.
• 1927 – Camp Fire Girls members are in every state.
• 1954 – National headquarters calls for greater inclusiveness of all groups within all segments of the membership, a reference to racial minorities, among others.
• 1964-67 – Camp Fire Girls launches a national effort to reach low-income, predominantly urban girls.
• 1975 – Camp Fire Girls allows participation by boys in all activities and changes its name to Camp Fire Boys and Girls.
• 1977 – Kansas City becomes the national headquarters.
• 2001 – Camp Fire Boys and Girls changes its name to Camp Fire USA.
