Impact Report

2023

In 1986, I experienced one of the greatest joys in my life, the day our 4-month-old baby Lacey, born

in South Korea, came home to us. Three years later, our 3-month-old son Sam arrived from India! My

husband Dan and I were over the moon! We had two wonderful, beautiful children whom we loved more

than anything in the whole world, and that’s all it takes, right? Wrong.

It took experiencing Korean Heritage Camp for the very rst time in 1992 to even begin to understand

what we needed to learn and understand about being an adoptive family. Love is powerful, but love is

not enough.

We had to learn and understand more about who our children were and

where they came from. The cultural part of camp was a true joy, eating

the food, watching my kids dance, bringing home treasured arts and

crafts, and learning from people who looked like my kids! Also learning

about how our kids might be feeling about being adopted, nding their

identity, and much more.

In 1995 I became the Executive Director of Heritage Camps for Adoptive

Families! Little did I know that my children would catapult me into a career

I never dreamed of. Little did I know how much I would gain from delving

into not only my own children’s cultures, and the culture of adoption but

that of hundreds of other adopted children at 9 heritage camps!

In fact, we are the only organization in the world that runs 9 separate camps, serving over 3,000

people, including adoptive families, counselors, and community presenters. I am proud of that

achievement and can wholeheartedly say, I didn’t do it alone.

We now have four paid sta at HCAF, which was a very long time in coming and much appreciated,

but it is also all the volunteers who make each camp happen. Countless hours are spent by parents,

counselors, and cultural community members. It never ceases to amaze me what we do every summer,

at every camp. We are having an impact not only on adoptees, from preschoolers through adults, but

on their families and on the community as well. We continually strive to build connections that last

throughout the year.

Our roots are strong and will hold us steady as we move into the future where international adoption is

changing, and adult adoptees are asking for more time at camp past high school, know it has made a

world of dierence for me and for my family. What a joy it has been!

Pam Sweetser

Executive Director

From the Executive Director

Our Mission

Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families is a post-

adoption resource dedicated to promoting

healthy adoption, racial, and ethnic identities in

transracial, transnational, and domestic adoptees

by creating an intrinsic sense of belonging

through our programming and community.

Our Vision

To continue to be a leading post-

adoption resource and advocate,

accessible to all adoptees and

adoptive families, growing and

adapting as adoption changes

worldwide.

Our HCAF Village

Without the support of our volunteers, our camps would

not be the authentic, meaningful, and unforgettable

experiences that they are.

2,462

Total camp volunteers equating to over

41,000 hours

325

Camp Counselors – Spending days with

each group of kids throughout camp. They

are the racial mirrors, the adoption mirrors, the role

models, and the mentors to our campers.

467

Camp Presenters & Performers – Working

with all ages to teach about culture,

demonstrate cultural arts, cook ethnic food, present on

topics around race and adoption, and provide campers

with support and information that lasts long after camp.

1,291

Camp Parents – Every parent volunteers

a half day of camp, preparing meals,

with craft projects or games, driving middle schoolers

to outdoor education sites, taking shifts in the camp

market or evening activities, or other jobs.

379

Camp Leaders – These people, who have

so much heart for camp, give all year round

as camp directors and coordinators, leading the way to

plan, create, manage, and execute every aspect of camp.

Volunteer Boards. – The governing Board of

Directors, consisting of camp parents, adoptees, and

community members, and the Advisory Board, consisting

of community members and adoptees who advise us

about programming or other community needs.

Last, but not least,

we have four sta

members at HCAF,

who manage the

big picture of our

organization, and help

ensure our volunteers

and camp families

have the best camp

experience!

“ Volunteers don’t necessarily have the

time; they just have the heart.”

– Unknown

Camp Program Highlights

For Elementary through High School Campers

Community/Cultural Engagement – Campers learn about who they are and where

they came from—whether across the world or in the U.S.—through music, dance, visual

arts and crafts, cooking, games, customs and traditions.

Adoption Education and Identity Building – Each age group experiences developmentally

appropriate workshops centered around adoption and identity. Led by therapists and community

mentors, these workshops provide a safe space for campers of all ages to share common

experiences and thoughts with their peers.

Racial Awareness – Our pilot program on race for elementary campers started at African/

Caribbean Heritage Camp, led by educators and community leaders. Our goal is to include this

program for all camps. Race is an included topic in workshops for both middle and high school

campers as well.

For Adults:

Adult Workshops and Activities – Each camp includes a wealth

of workshops designed to provide support and knowledge to

adoptive parents about issues relevant to their kids and families,

and to foster connections with each other.

Adult Adoptee Programming and Events – Camp never

ends! HCAF welcomes individuals and families to participate

in workshops and activities related to their interests as adult

adoptees and to continue the peer connection.

For Families:

Family time – These are family camps, so we provide time for families to regroup, have fun, and

spend time with each other and friends.

Special Needs Support – Every child is welcome and accepted at our camps. Working with

parents individually, we strive to provide the safest and best environment for children/teens with

special needs.

LGBTQI+ Support – Every child or parent is welcome and accepted at our camps. Most camps

are implementing opportunities for the camp LGBQTI+ community to connect.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – This has been a tenet of our organization since the beginning,

and we are deepening our commitment with a special community task force, the creation of our

Anti-Racism Tool Kit, and relevant camp programming.

Year-Round

Adoptee Meetups – We oer quarterly meetup opportunities for adult adoptees with various

activities and locations.

Webinars – Throughout the year our online webinars oer a wide variety of topics relevant to

adoptive parenting, with some programming for teens and children as well.

Resources and Referrals – We try to help families year-round with therapy referrals, notices

about community events and activities, birth country travel information, etc. We only refer or

publicize events that are known to us and have been well vetted. Our website includes resources

for all ages and our anti-racism toolkit.

Visit our website

for more detailed

descriptions of our

programming

1992

2017

1995

1997

1999

2000

2004

2005

2010

2011

About 300 people

participate in the

rst Korean “Culture”

Camp, at the YMCA

of the Rockies/Snow

Mountain Ranch.

First East Indian Heritage Camp. Pam

Sweetser becomes Executive Director of newly

incorporated Colorado Heritage Camps with

a Board of Directors, two camps, and many

dedicated volunteers.

1997–1999 African-

American, Chinese, Latin

American, and Vietnamese

Heritage Camps join the

organization.

HCAF’s HeART Talks

program, an adoption-

centered workshop for

adoptees in pre/k-5th

grade with age-appropriate

activities run by licensed art

therapists, is developed.

Community support grows,

as members of the various

cultural communities and

adoption professionals

volunteer to present

at camp.

Over 4,200 people

attend camp from

across the country.

Colorado Heritage Camps changes

name to Heritage Camps for Adoptive

Families. One part-time employee joins

executive director Pam Sweetser.

2000–2004. Four additional camps join the organization:

Cambodian, Chinese II (due to high demand for Chinese

Heritage Camp), Filipino, and Russian Heritage Camps,

adding approximately 300 people to our camp family.

Domestic Adoption Camp for families

with children adopted in the U.S —

HCAF’s most diverse camp yet—starts

with 17 dedicated families,

HCAF programs “Who I Am” and

“Courageous Conversations” are developed

to speak to Middle School and High School

campers about adoption and race.

Shifting adoption demographics

lead to reorganization: Cambodian

Heritage Camp closes. Southeast

Asian/Pacic Islander Heritage

Camp and Russian/Eastern

European/Central Asian Heritage

Camp are formed.

HCAF initiates all-camp theme,

“Creating Connections.”

Almost 3000 people expected

to participate this summer.

HCAF history at a glance

2020

2021

All nine camps

held virtually for

2020 and 2021

with an average

of 418 families

participating

each year.

HCAF webinars are

developed and 1,231

people participate.

2023

2022

HCAF’s sta is now comprised of

four members, but the bulk of the

organization’s extensive operations

is still handled by volunteers.

Domestic Adoption Camp

takes place in Colorado Springs

with over 60 families attending.

Who we serve

How did we spend

our money?

$155,847

Programming

(workshops/activities,

facilities, food)

$141,918

Counselors

& Presenters

Operation % = 38%

Guide Star

Recommendation = 40%

$70,846

Families

(scholarships

& volunteers)

Our camp fees are considerably

lower than many other adoption

camps. We believe it’s important to

be inclusive, and want to ensure

that camp is aordable for the

majority of families. We provide

scholarships for camp fees and

accommodation for those who

qualify for nancial support.

We focus on supporting

international and domestic

adoptive families, including

adopted children, parents,

non-adopted siblings, and

extended family. Addition-

ally, our camps are a

resource for foster parents

and waiting parents.

$1,216, 202

Volunteer Powered

Donations

Where do our

donations

come from?

Program fees

would be $579

per person without

volunteers and

donations

Avg. per camper cost

= $208

Avg. registration fees

= $162

HCAF 2022 Snapshot

Family

Powered

Donations

$152,148

Whether families have adopted

internationally or domestically, HCAF

helps them become part of a larger

community “just like themselves,” with

shared experiences, challenges, and

opportunities. At our heritage camps,

we connect adoptive families with

authentic cultural experiences,

providing positive representations

that arm the inherent worth of a

child’s birth culture.

45 states + D.C. and 6 foreign countries

26%

18%

15%

10%

Matching gifts, Kroger card

payments, AmazonSmile, United

Way contributions, and others.

Community member

contributions &

Giving First

Colorado Gives

Individual

Donors

HCAF Gala

Family

Foundations

Camp events and

fundraisers

34%

Camp events and

fundraisers

Indirect Donations

Corporate

contributions

represented over 3 years

254 Elementary

288 Middle School

397

High School

1,048 Parents

PreK/K

Childcare

Fran Campbell

Filipina community member & “Courageous Conversations”

program founder

I started with HCAF in 2000 as a cultural community presenter at the Filipino

Heritage Camp. I have always been active in the Filipino American community,

so there was a cultural connection to HCAF. More importantly, my two

youngest brothers were adopted from the Philippines, so there was also a

personal connection to HCAF. I joined the HCAF Cultural Advisory Board

in 2009, and soon after that I developed the “This Is Me” program for high

school adoptees and parents. Now known as “Courageous Conversations”,

the program has been presented at every Heritage Camp since 2010.

Adoption was a pivotal moment in my family history. My brothers were adopted at ages 8 and 13.

Adoption in our family was all about assimilation from third world poverty into American culture.

My brother’s understanding of the culture they came from and the culture they were dropped into

was so contradictory. They had lived in poverty but had never before endured discrimination and

bigotry. They didn’t know how to react when bullies hated their skin color or insulted their accent.

They were miserable – and we missed it.

Culture, to me, is why HCAF is such an important

piece of the transracial adoption experience. HCAF

strives to dene culture as more than just food,

language and art. HCAF breaks down assumptions

so that adoptive families can see the realistic

challenges and beauty of the journey. At HCAF,

I am able to share my culture, to learn about

other cultures and to honor my families’ adoption

experience.

”

Sam Severns

Korean adoptee & board member

One of the truly amazing aspects

of camp is the nurturing of the

Counselor-Kid connection. This

mentorship is not something

specically planned but something

that organically occurs over

the course of camp. It’s those

relationships that ultimately drive the

kids to come back and want to be

counselors themselves, and that cycle

continues. I’m denitely a product

of that. I especially enjoyed growing

up with the same counselors and

ultimately being able to be a counselor with them. That’s

where I’ve made the best connections.

OUR HCAF COMMUNITY

Yoselin Corrales

Honduran adoptee & sta

member

I think it’s been so valuable to have had

the opportunity to be connected with my

culture and with adoption in a positive way,

in a way of leadership and mentorship, and

now as sta. Seeing the development of

my identity through the lens of adoption

has been really exciting. I think I gained

a lot more comfort around talking about

adoption. I think it also allowed me to gain

a community of people that have similar

experiences to myself, and that are still

some of my lifelong friends. I think the

relationships that you build through that

collective experience can be incredibly

valuable.

Rupa Ryan Kryzer

Indian adoptee

I had a friend that I

met on Facebook,

who was also

adopted from India,

and she said “you

gotta come out to

Colorado. In 2008

I decided to come

check it out. I was

a counselor that

year and the whole

experience blew

my mind. I loved

staying in the cabin

with the other

counselors. I just felt

surrounded by my culture in a way that I hadn’t

before. Heritage Camps do a really good job of

growing and evolving with the needs of the kids

with changes that are happening with adoption,

internationally and domestically. And so it’s a

camp that a person can grow up with and it’s a

camp that’s going to grow with them.

Laura Blaney CHCII parent & board member

Heritage Camp is like home to me. Every

year, on the rst morning of camp, I

take a deep breath of gratitude for this

gathering place, where every family looks

like my family, where the families were

formed like my family was formed, and

where all of us -- adults and children

alike -- share a bond of understanding

of the highs and lows of adoption. We’ve

been coming to Heritage Camp since

my daughter was ve, and she’s 15 now.

I’ve served in just about every volunteer

capacity at our camp. I joined the Board

of Directors to serve in a broader way, to

do what I could to ensure that Heritage

Camps for Adoptive Families survives

and thrives long into the future. Heritage

Camp is a gift to my family. Being on the

Board is my way of saying thanks for this

extraordinary gift.

Shawn Candelaria

ACHC parent & board

member

We were able to attend our rst

camp in June of 2022, and frankly,

we just had an amazing experience.

It was life changing for our family,

and especially for our daughter who

basically said it was the best week of

our entire life. So, yes, for us it was an

experience that we’ll never forget.

I think my daughter’s experience of

having an opportunity to be around

a bunch of kids

and get to be

friends with kids

that look like

her and have