Big names are representing our commonwealth at the Great American State Fair in Washington, DC. Well-known Pennsylvania staples such as Crayola, Middlesworth…and Camp Susque?

Why does a small Christian summer camp get to represent Pennsylvania along with heavy-hitters from our agriculture, energy, or even snack industries? The fair, running June 25-July 10, 2026, is an opportunity for our state to showcase our contribution to our collective national identity. While Camp Susque might be a small, rural, and non-profit organization, camping plays a crucial role in our state’s economy, history, and cultural identity.

At Camp Susque, located in Trout Run, 18 miles north of Williamsport, we see every year that camp is more than a week away from home. (susque.org) What began as a summer youth camp in 1947 has grown into a year-round ministry and community resource, including youth camps, wilderness trips, family camps, winter camps, educational programs, field trips, retreats, and rentals. Those programs form young people, strengthen families, employ staff, welcome visitors, and play an outsized role in a rural local economy.

The numbers show that the work accomplished by camps is not just sentimental; it is substantial. A 2024 study from the University of Michigan and the American Camp Association estimates that PA’s camp industry has a $2.6 billion total annual economic impact. The same study identified 759 camp programs in PA – making PA one of the campiest states in the nation. PA camps employ 48,847 people full-time, part-time, and seasonally, and generate $902 million in labor income. (PR Newswire) Nationally, the youth camp industry contributes $70 billion to the economy (American Camp Association). Many of these camps exist in the most rural, and often poverty-stricken regions of Pennsylvania, sending much needed tourism dollars and employment opportunities to our least supported regions.

Those figures have real people behind them. They are high school and college students earning first paychecks and learning crucial leadership and management skills that will stick with them in future careers. They are kitchen staff, maintenance teams, nurses, lifeguards, counselors, bookkeepers, and year-round professionals. They are local farms, food vendors, contractors, equipment suppliers, mechanics, printers, laundries, and small businesses that keep camps running. They are parents and grandparents who stop for gas, eat in local restaurants, stay nearby, and discover a part of the state they might otherwise never have visited. The very items on display at the fair for Camp Susque demonstrate strong partnerships with PA businesses – our coffee blend roasted by Williamsport’s Alabaster Coffee, or our Susque Root Beer and Birch beer crafted by Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg. Our display of Maple Syrup and Honey are sourced right on site, and reflect a strong connection to PA’s agricultural history and industry.

That matters, especially in rural areas. Camp Susque is part of north-central PA’s outdoor economy. Pennsylvania’s Outdoor Industry generated 20.4 billion in economic impact in 2024, and supported 177,000 jobs. Not only do camps represent 13% of that economic impact and nearly 28% of those jobs, camps are also the introduction for our youth into the many other forms of outdoor recreation and tourism that we all benefit from. Camps are often the first introduction to our trails, streams, lakes, ponds, or activities like backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, and cycling. But the economic case is only half the story. The deeper value of camp is what happens in the life of a young person. The American Camp Association’s National Camp Impact Study found that high-quality camp experiences can support social-emotional development, belonging, supportive youth-staff relationships, experiential learning, and learning in unique settings. (American Camp Association) A related ACA summary noted that camp intentionally provides time away from technology and helps young people build skills such as resilience, confidence, independence, social awareness, and perseverance (American Camp Association). These skills prepare young people for any future outcome of their life.

That is what we see at Camp Susque. A camper tries something hard and discovers courage. A counselor learns to put another person’s needs first. A family slows down long enough to talk, pray, laugh, and remember what matters. A young adult who thought of camp as a summer job leaves with experience in leadership, communication, conflict resolution, responsibility, and teamwork. In a world where many young people are anxious, distracted, and disconnected, camp offers something refreshingly human: community, purpose, and a place to belong.

Christian camps such as Camp Susque are also concerned about the soul and spiritual growth, and have a foundational impact: “Christian camps serve young people holistically: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually,” said Gregg Hunter, president/CEO of Christian Camp and Conference Association. “When campers have positive experiences that feed their whole person in a week at camp, their lives are changed. Kids go home from camp with more confidence, healthier mentally and emotionally, and with a better understanding of who God is and how much He loves them.”

As PA tells its story at the Great American State Fair, we are ensuring that camps are more than a footnote. We should include camps in tourism promotion, workforce development conversations, youth development strategies, and rural economic planning. We should recognize that camp employment is real workforce preparation, that camp visitors are part of the visitor economy, and that camp programs help form the next generation of citizens, workers, leaders, and neighbors.

Pennsylvania has always been a place where big American ideas take root: independence, industry, agriculture, faith, community, and stewardship of the land. Camps bring many of those ideas together in one place. Around campfires, along trails, in cabins, or even in the pool, young people learn responsibility, families reconnect, staff members develop leadership, and rural communities benefit from the economic activity that follows.

That is a story worth telling on the National Mall. It is also a story worth investing in here at home. To learn more about Camp Susque or to contribute to our work, please visit susque.org or susque.org/donate

Peter Swift is the executive director of Camp Susque.