She’s a 30 year fire veteran and HRFE fire Captain, but to many she’s an inspiration, a mentor and a role model
Captain Andréa Speranza is the founder of the amazing Camp Courage program, a program that was planned out in 2005 with the first camp launched in 2006 for the purpose of introducing young women and gender-diverse youth aged 15- 19 to careers as first responders in a run of a week including EHS days, police days, and firefighter days, expanding now to include the coast guard. All these events are made possible by a lot of hard behind the scenes planning and cooperation with various agencies, arranging locations and volunteers to make this camp an incredible experience for the campers every year.
Capt Andréa Speranza has inspired hundreds of youth to seriously consider jobs as a first responder, and many who have become first responders return back to camp as mentors, talking about their cp days and sharing their work experiences with the campers, spreading encouragement and inspiration from within.
The mentors are strongly supportive and in many cases spend their personal time volunteering to help.
The work to put this program is a year long event. Even during the camp, the next year is already in the works. Capt Andréa Speranza works to secure funding and sponsors, plan events with agency partners, and to grow the experience for the next round of campers.
Much of this work is done on her own time as her dedication for this program drives her to continue.
Her hard work and dedication has begun to catch the eyes of First responders across the globe. Camps are preparing to launch in other parts of Canada, the US and overseas, inspired by Capt Andréa Speranza and her dream.
Hats off to Capt Andréa Speranza and her hard work that has inspired so many to face the challenges and to the countless volunteers and mentors who continue to support, encourage and inspire.
Camp Courage info
