Program

The Fundamentals

What makes a program like ours incredible? Year after year we find that it's not the activities or site we pick, the food we eat, or even the knowledge that youth gain that predicts youths' overall experience in our program. No, the highest rated aspects of our program are consistently our Counselors, Alumni Family, and VIPs.

More than just high quality people though, we find that the success of our program often comes from its participants. On the right is a graph that shows the correlation between how youth rate the program overall, compared to how they rate various other aspects of the program and themselves. While aspects like our VIPs and Counselors certainly rate high here as well, we see that one of the greatest correlates of an overall enjoyable program was attending with an desire to improve oneself. Other notable factors have included how connected youth feel to their community and the relationships they form at the summit. Simply put, it's not just about great organizers, it's about great participants too.

So, what makes a program great? The people.

The Special Ingredients

Recreational Activities

No retreat program would be complete without a healthy dose of the outdoors. Throughout the weekend, youth will have the opportunity to participate in multiple activity blocks with various activities. In the past, we've offered Archery, Tomahawk Throw, Low Ropes, and Gaga Ball, along with various hikes, organized sports, and fun games!

Exploring the outdoors isn't just about physical exertion. Throughout the weekend, we challenge youth to take pause and reflect on the silence, sounds, and feelings of the living, breathing world around them. Youth explore the simplicity of praying outside, laying under the illuminated night sky, and reconnecting with a world that begs to be nurtured.

Enrichment Sessions

With the guidance of our VIPs, Counselors, and Alumni Family, youth participate in various spiritual and intellectual enrichment activities geared toward Socratic dialectics, spiritual introspection, and hands-on learning. At YSS, we believe that the best learning happens when we seek to understand one another and the world around us. We don't do lectures or classrooms - our enrichment sessions are opportunities for dialogue among participants, led by the direction and wisdom of VIPs and Alumni Family members. These sessions may cover topics pertaining to Islamic knowledge, career planning, personal development, mental health practices, political action, academic intellectualism, and social matters.

Spiritual Development

As we oft remind the youth at the onset of our program, our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to retreat from society to sit in reflection. We aim to follow in his footsteps by taking time away from the distractions and responsibilities of our daily lives to reflect on this life and to develop our unique relationship with Allah. As such, we center our program around group prayer, Quran recitation, group dhikr, and study circles. Youth are challenged to reflect upon the Quran to understand the stories and lessons therein. Above all, youth are encouraged with the same command given to us by the Quran: Ponder.

Community Building

Large portions of our program are dedicated to nothing more than just... hanging around! We want youth to have fun, to take a break, to enjoy time with friends, and to genuinely have time to build relationships with others. To that end, youth at YSS enjoy free blocks in the morning, afternoon, and evening. We allot designated times throughout the weekend dedicated to just spending time with your family group or cabin group. In the evenings, we bring the whole camp together for evening activities such as stargazing and s'mores around the campfire.

In truth, fun isn't the whole of it. We recognize that in an every busy and culturally shifting world, finding time to just sit aimlessly in the companionship of your Muslim brothers and sisters is an opportunity not often available to us. The strength of our Ummah is measured in the strength of the bonds we form between one another. It is our sincere hope that all YSS participants leave our program year after year feeling connected to their community and by extension their faith, that perhaps through loving one another, we may come to love Allah to an even greater degree insha'Allah.