Camp Kaleidoscope, hosted by an Illinois YMCA in partnership with an LGBT activist group, offers second graders access to transgender-themed programming and “gender-affirming” products like chest binders and tucking underwear—without parental approval or age limits.
Key Facts:
- The Stephens Family YMCA in Champaign, Illinois is running “Camp Kaleidoscope” in partnership with Uniting Pride of Champaign County.
- Two sessions are offered: one for 2nd–5th graders in June and another for 6th–9th graders in July.
- Uniting Pride distributes chest binders, tucking underwear, and transgender books to youth of any age.
- The YMCA states it provides locker room and restroom access based on self-identified gender identity.
- American Parents Coalition has criticized the program as an effort to push gender ideology on young children.
The Rest of The Story:
Camp Kaleidoscope is advertised as a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth and children from LGBTQ+ families to “be authentically themselves.”
The program, hosted at a private residential facility, is conducted in collaboration with Uniting Pride, a local LGBT advocacy group.
Uniting Pride’s role extends beyond camp programming.
The group provides free gender-altering garments to youth of all ages, including chest binders and tucking underwear.
“Anyone of any age is welcome to apply,” according to its website, which also features a “quick exit” button to conceal access from parents.
The Stephens Family YMCA handbook states it offers locker room and restroom access based on self-reported gender identity.
Following recent backlash, the YMCA quietly removed various transgender-themed resources from its website after a campaign by the American Parents Coalition.
Commentary:
It’s hard to believe this is the same YMCA that claims to promote Christian principles.
There is nothing Christian about introducing second graders to adult concepts of gender ideology, let alone supplying them with items like chest binders and tucking underwear—without parental oversight or age restrictions.
Parents should be outraged.
This isn’t about tolerance or diversity; it’s about pushing an agenda under the guise of summer fun.
Let’s be honest—there’s no reason a 7- or 8-year-old child needs exposure to organizations that hand out sexually suggestive materials and transgender guides.
The most disturbing part isn’t just what Uniting Pride is doing—it’s that the YMCA is choosing to partner with them.
The same YMCA that hosts Bible verses in its mission statement is now providing a pipeline for radical ideology cloaked in summer camp fun.
This is more than a policy shift.
It’s a complete reversal of values, a bowing down to a new god that demands ideological submission at the expense of childhood innocence and family authority.
As for the parents who would willingly send their children to this camp?
That’s just as troubling.
Who in their right mind thinks chest binders belong in a second grader’s overnight bag?
Anyone who lets their child attend this program needs a serious reevaluation of priorities.
This isn’t community-building. It’s grooming—plain and simple.
The YMCA has lost its moral compass, and it’s dragging trusting families down with it.
The Bottom Line:
An Illinois YMCA is partnering with an LGBT activist group to run a youth camp that includes distributing gender-altering gear to children as young as seven.
The program, hidden behind cheerful language about self-expression and recreation, is a troubling shift for a group that once stood on Christian values.
Parents need to pay attention—because what used to be a wholesome summer experience is now a front line in the culture war.
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