Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families

Since 1992, Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families has been supporting the healthy development of families formed by adoption. We promote the successful transition of adopted children into healthy, confident, well-​grounded adults who are proud of themselves, their families, and their heritage.

Whether your child was adopted internationally or domestically, HCAF helps adoptive families become part of a larger community “just like themselves,” with shared experiences, challenges, and opportunities.

Creating Connections in 2023

Our overarching theme this year across all nine camps is “Creating Connections.” When we share our camp experiences, we build powerful connections with the people we’re closest to, with our community and the world around us, and with ourselves. This overarching theme brings our nine camps together with a common concept over the summer, while each camp will still develop their own programming based around Creating Connections.

More Than An Annual Vacation!

Current research in adoption supports HCAF’s approach to social integration and self-​esteem building. More than just an annual vacation, HCAF fosters meaningful connections with other adoptive families and cultural communities.

Family members of all ages benefit from the expertise of professionals in the fields of identity development, complex trauma, art therapy, and more, balanced with fun and engaging activities that support relationship building. Many of our workshop presenters are adoptees who bridge their professional expertise with their personal experiences.

Bridging Culture and Community

While all of our camps include programming about adoption in general, our Heritage Camps have a focus of supporting transcultural/transracial adoptive families.  We connect adoptive families with authentic cultural experiences, providing positive representations that affirm the inherent worth of a child’s birth culture through fun, age-appropriate, interactive activities, and cultural/racial “mirrors” — camp counselors and presenters from adoptees’ birth cultures.