Help Send a Teen to DETLC!

Down East Teen Leadership Camp (DETLC) is Healthy Acadia’s annual residential summer camp program for teens entering grades 7 through 9. DETLC is held in late July on the beautiful campus of Downeast Institute in Trescott, Maine, and offers five action-packed days filled with games and team-building activities, amazing motivational speakers, and daily workshops focused on social issues that matter to teens.

The vision of Down East Teen Leadership Camp is to empower teens with social, communication, and leadership skills to support emotional resiliency and to deter misuse of substances, including tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs. DETLC is deeply impactful for the youth who participate. Learn more.

Your support ensures that costs for DETLC are kept to a minimum and that no one is turned away due to financial constraints.

You Can Help a Teen Attend DETLC!

We believe that every teen who wishes to participate in the DETLC experience should have the opportunity to do so. Though the per-camper cost of DETLC was approximately $750 in 2023, we continue to limit tuition to just $295 per camper, and we have always offered significant scholarships based on need. Scholarships and camp costs not covered by camper fees are paid for through community fundraising, local sponsorships, and grant funding. Your monetary gift, if any amount will help to ensure that DETLC continues to serve as many youths as are interested, regardless of financial need.

Click here to learn how to sponsor a camper for DETLC 2024, or donate online today at: bit.ly/supportDETLC  

Since 2000, DETLC has empowered more than 550 teens from rural Washington County, Maine, and beyond to live substance-free and serve as positive role models and inspiring civic leaders in their schools and communities. Many campers who attend DETLC return as campers in subsequent years and again to serve as junior staff as high school and undergraduate students. Click here to learn more about the DETLC experience for teens entering grades 7-9.

For more information about Down East Teen Leadership Camp, contact Sara McConnell at (207) 255-3741 or Sara@HealthyAcadia.org. For more ways to support this program or other Healthy Acadia initiatives, contact Shoshona Smith at 207-667-7171 Ext. 210 or Development@HealthyAcadia.org.