The Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls is both the original Rock n Roll Camp for Girls

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization based in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and the common name associated with the Girls Rock Camp movement of

youth organizations The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

for girls inspired by the original camp in Portland. The camp in Portland gives girls ages 8–18 the opportunity to learn rock instruments, form bands, write songs, and perform. The mostly volunteer and female staff strives to inspire self-esteem and mutual support among diverse campers within this rock band framework. The first camp was held in August 2001. The camp grew out of founder Misty McElroy's 2000 project as a

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

major at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decad ...

. Inspired by the work from the original Portland project, there are now Girls Rock Camps all over the globe. The mission of the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls has become a DIY global movement that seeks to empower girls through music. Girls Rock Camps now take place in more than 40 American cities including New York (Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls), Austin, Texas (Girls Rock Austin), Charlotte, North Carolina (Girls Rock CLT), Atlanta, Georgia (Girls Rock Camp ATL), Las Vegas, Nevada (Girls Rock, Las Vegas), Washington, DC, (Girls Rock, DC), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Girls Rock! Philly), Seattle, Washington (Rain City Rock Camp), Indianapolis, Indiana (Girls Rock! Indianapolis), Los Angeles, California (Rock n Roll Camp for Girls, Los Angeles), Athens, Ohio (Athens Girls Rock Camp), and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Rock 'n Roll Camp for Girls, OKC) and globally in places like Dubai (Rock Camp for Girls, UAE), Germany (Ruby Tuesday Berlin), Brazil (Girls Rock Camp Brasil), Canada (many, see below table for locations), Sweden (Popkollo), Finland (Girls Rock! Finland) and Australia (Girls Rock! Australia). Each camp is independently run, but organizers exchange ideas and share approaches by way of the international Girls Rock Camp Alliance.

Camps around the globe

The Rock n Roll Camp for Girls mission is expanding as people become inspired to start chapters in their hometowns all over the world. Each camp is put together by the community it represents, and because of this many camps offer different versions of similar programming.

Girls rock camp alliance

The Girls Rock Camp Alliance (GRCA) is an alliance of music camps who share the same mission of empowerment through music. The purpose of the GRCA is to create a physical and a virtual space for camps to share ideas and resources, as well as a space for organizers of camps to meet in person and gain inspiration from each other. The GRCA holds one conference a year where organizers from individual camps gather to skill build, resource share, build community, and talk about different camp philosophies as well as movement building.

Girls rock camp in culture and media

In 2006, the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls was the subject of Stacy Lynn Singer's dissertation at Georgia State University, entitled ''I'm Not Loud Enough to be Heard, Rock n Roll Camp for Girls, and Feminist Quests for Equity, Community, and Cultural Production''. In 2008, ''

Girls Rock! ''Girls Rock!'' is a 2007 documentary film that follows four 8-18-year-old girls at the Rock and Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Oregon, United States. At Rock and Roll Camp, girls ranging in age from eight to 18 are taught that "it is 100% okay ...

'' was released. It is a documentary that follows the stories of three young girls through their week at the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Oregon. Also in 2008, a book was written by the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls to encourage girls to play music, which featured illustrations by Graphic Artist

Nicole Georges Nicole J. Georges (born 10 December 1981 in Kansas) is an American illustrator, writer, zinester, podcaster, and educator. She is well known for authoring the autobiographical comic zine ''Invincible Summer'', whose individual issues have been co ...

. This book contained a short history of women in rock music, and featured contributions from former volunteers of camps such as Nicole Georges, STS,

Carrie Brownstein Carrie Rachel Brownstein (born September 27, 1974) is an American musician, actress, writer, director, and comedian. She first came to prominence as a member of the band Excuse 17 before forming the rock trio Sleater-Kinney. During a long hiatus ...

(

Portlandia ''Portlandia'' is an American sketch comedy television series starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, set in and around Portland, Oregon, and spoofing the city's reputation as a haven for eccentric hipsters. The show was produced by Br ...

Sleater Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member J ...

) and members of

The Gossip Gossip (or The Gossip) was an American indie rock band formed in Searcy, Arkansas, originally active from 1999 until 2016. For most of their career, the band consisted of singer Beth Ditto, multi-instrumentalist Brace Paine, and drummer Hanna ...

. In 2012, the documentary ''

Hit So Hard ''Hit So Hard'' is a 2011 American documentary film directed by P. David Ebersole. The film details the life and near death story of Patty Schemel, drummer of the seminal '90s alternative rock band Hole, and charts her early life, music career, a ...

'' (about drummer

Patty Schemel Patricia Theresa Schemel (born April 24, 1967) is an American drummer and musician who rose to prominence as the drummer of alternative rock band Hole from 1992 until 1998. Born in Los Angeles, Schemel was raised in rural Marysville, Washington, ...

from the band

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

) featured a portion about the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls.

Other programs

Many Girls Rock Camps offer programs other than a summer camp, but with the same ideology. Programs that are offered by some Girls Rock Camps include but are not limited to: Ladies Rock Camps, after school programs, and special events. Ladies Rock Camp (or in some places Womens Rock Camp) is usually a 2-3 day program where adult women are exposed to similar workshops and musical instrument instruction that girls receive during summer camp. After school programs differ depending on the location, but range from totally music driven programming to community and school focused programs. Many Girls Rock Camps offer special events during the year ranging from movie nights to concerts. Queer Rock Camp in Olympia, Washington, is a week long summer camp program for queer youth ages 12–21 that was inspired by the Rock n Roll Camp for Girls program. Like Girls Rock Camps, they seek to empower queer youth through music, creativity, expression, and workshops that aim to foster those goals.

References

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External links