Princeton-Blairstown Center

For over 100 years, Princeton-Blairstown Center (PBC) has provided adventure-based experiential education to at-risk urban youth. What began in 1908 as a summer camp run by Princeton University students to give inner-city boys an opportunity to have a fresh air experience has evolved into a year-round program that offers transformative experiences that strengthen character, build leadership and encourage stewardship.  Our goal is to make a positive impact on the lives of underserved young people, ages 11-17, in the metropolitan New Jersey and New York region. 

Princeton-Blairstown Center is an example of Princeton University's commitment to civic engagement and support of urban youth in our region.  Princeton-Blairstown Center is an independent, nonprofit public charity with 501(c)(3) status and raises its own funds through donations from individuals, foundations and corporations, special events, endowment income and user fees.  Please visit our support us page for information about making a donation.

Our programs target the five social-emotional learning principles*, including:

• Self-awareness
• Self -management
• Social awareness
• Relationship skills
• Responsible decision making
  
  * As stated by Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning; 2005; Devaney, O‘Brien, Keister, Resnik, & Weissberg, 2006  

Through our programs, we teach young people to:

• Realize their ability to achieve;
• Understand their strengths and passions;
• Articulate personal goals that nurture and empower;
• Make a commitment to others and become active members of their communities;
• Establish their resolve to stand strong in the face of personal challenges;
• Live with a self-respect that will inspire them to take good care of their minds and bodies;
• See the larger world as a place of opportunity and growth.

Over these past 100+ years, Princeton-Blairstown Center has served the Princeton University community through opportunities for civic engagement, volunteer service and research for undergraduates, promoting the University's mission of teaching and research.  Princeton undergraduates continue to benefit from their relationships with underserved urban youth through counseling, tutoring and mentoring.

With the support of the Princeton University community, Princeton-Blairstown Center provides structured programs for middle school and high school students that are intended to foster critical thinking, collaboration, cooperation, creativity and problem solving - tools that have been identified as fundamental to the educational needs of young people in the 21st century.

The foundation of Princeton-Blairstown Center's success is experiential education - a form of teaching that allows the student to experience the challenge and success of learning through close interaction with teachers and fellow students.   PBC has developed a SAFE (Sequenced, Active, Focused, Explicit)  multi-year curriculum for middle school and high school students.

Princeton-Blairstown Center conducts three primary programs:

• Multi-year school-based structured curriculum activities;
• Blairstown site programs;
• Princeton University partners programs.

Additional options are available:

• Community-based programs;
• Blairstown site usage (including conferences and meetings).

In 1908, a group of Princeton University undergraduates and alumni founded the Princeton Summer Camp. They were determined to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged inner-city children by offering healthy and character-building camping experiences.

This photo, taken in 1948, shows George Reeves,
our legendary cook for 51 years, and Everard Pinneo, '48, camp director
and current PBC Board Member

In 1930, the Blairstown site, which eventually grew to 263 acres, was purchased and managed by Princeton undergraduates.   In 1973, the site was winterized and professional staff began providing experiential education to urban youth.  Princeton undergraduates continue to help staff the Center during the summer months.  As the needs of our urban youth have evolved, Princeton-Blairstown Center has expanded programming into urban schools.

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