summer-camps
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The Public-Speaking School That Began With One Father’s Expensive Problem
Jackson Chow went looking for an affordable debate class for his seventh-grader. The search ended with a camp of his own - and a durable lesson in how small classes, repeated practice and civic partners can turn confidence into a teachable product.
The Kids' Camp That Turned Screen Time Into Shop Class - Then Sold Its Playbook
Lulu and Brendan Manley built the camp they wanted for their own children, survived a pandemic that arrived just as demand appeared, and expanded into more than 100 schools. The clever bit was never teaching kids to consume more technology - it was giving them tools and asking them to make something.
Young Life Built a Global Youth Network by Showing Up Before Preaching
The 85-year-old ministry does not wait for teenagers to walk into church. It trains adults to enter their world - at games, on campuses, in clubs and at camp - and turns patient friendship into a worldwide operating model.
ActivityHero
ActivityHero is a Palo Alto-based online marketplace and software platform that helps parents find, compare, and book summer camps, after-school classes, and enrichment activities for their kids - in-person, online, or on-demand. Founded in 2012 by engineers-turned-mothers Peggy Chang and Shilpa Dalmia, it also provides registration, marketing, and management software to the camps, studios, and school districts that run those programs, connecting millions of families with tens of thousands of activity providers.
Homeroom
Homeroom is a San Francisco software company that runs the back office for school auxiliary programs - after-school enrichment classes, extended care, summer camps, leagues and tutoring. Founded by Stanford classmates Casandra Espinoza Stewart and Christina Walker, it started as a three-sided marketplace connecting parents, schools and class vendors, then grew into an all-in-one platform handling registration, rosters, attendance check-in/out, contractor payments, compliance and financial reporting. It raised $3.5M in seed funding led by Forerunner Ventures in 2019 to chase a roughly $23 billion U.S. after-school market where more than 40% of children are not enrolled in any program.