EATON — Preble County girls at YWCA Dayton’s summer camp explored and celebrated their strengths, their voices, who they are today, and who they will become.

Summer camp, held July 10-21 at the Eaton Athletic and Wellness Complex, was held through YW’s Girls LEAD! youth program.

“Camp was really fun,” said Sophia Mills, age 9.

Girls LEAD! Camp provided a wide range of hands-on, experiential activities from painting, to crafts, to leadership exercises.

“I want to come back next year to camp,” said Emilia Smith, age 10, who attended camp. “We learned about women’s leadership and we also got to paint and make a giant mess.”

“It was really fun, we went on walks and learned about leadership and did all kinds of fun stuff,” said Kennedy Bishop, age 10.

Miranda Armstead, Rural Strategy Manager for YW’s Preble County Office, said camp was a true community partnership. Businesses donated to help make lunch possible and also came by to lead different workshops.

This support includes the community members who came out to the Corks for Camp fundraiser at Old Schoolhouse Winery in Eaton on June 30, where money was raised to support camp scholarships and activities.

“It is important to that girls in Preble are given an outlet during the summer and that they have access to high quality camp,” Armstead said. “Girls LEAD! Camp gave the girls a place to go to connect with each other and with mentors, all while growing in confidence.”