Our organization was founded in 2023 by two moms, Melissa Benson and Jess Cleveland.

When Melissa’s child was bullied at summer camp for being queer, she looked for a safe summer camp for LGBTQ teenagers, but couldn’t find one in the south. So they founded their own.

Camp Beacon is a summer camp designed for and with LGBTQ teenagers from thirteen to seventeen. We create a typical summer camp experience that is safe, affirming, and fun while equipping our campers to be resilient and successful beyond their time at camp. To that end, we offer leadership opportunities for our campers, like our Counselor-in-Training program and our Youth Council, where our campers elect two youth representatives to serve as their collective voice in advising our leadership team and our Board of Directors.

We have successfully completed three summer camps thus far and served over 90 campers. We also have an active Discord that allows LGBTQ teenagers across the Commonwealth to stay connected and build community and we reach out to LGBTQ teenagers across the state to include them. Our long term goal is to build a Kentucky where every LGBTQ teenager has access to an affirming community.