Welcome to the Hero Workshop where we help kids find the hero inside.
I'm Matt Langdon, creator of the Hero Workshop program. I'm an Australian living in America despite what the picture to the right might suggest. I left Australia to spend a summer in Michigan working at a YMCA camp. That was thirteen years ago.
I started the Hero Workshop in 2006 with the goal of using the skills I'd developed through living the camp life of "learn everything, just in case". At camp I worked with people aged from five to "don't ask" in sometimes wildly different circumstances and environments. They helped me realise what a real hero is.
The aim of the program is to show young people that by doing the little things every day they can become heroes. Far from having to perform miraculous deeds, they are provided with an attainable goal.
I'm proud to be working with Dr. Philip Zimbardo and Zeno Franco on their study of heroism in reference to the psychology world. Zimbardo has recently retired as Professor Emeritus at Stanford University and is keen to spread the word of heroism around the world. You can read a paper I contributed to if you click here for a pdf file.
Please look around the site and feel free to contact me with any questions about the program or comments on heroism.
Learn About The Program
Read the details of the programs offered for grades K-12 and youth groups, including Girl Scouts
Click Here
Summer Camp Programs
"It was amazing to me how The Hero Workshop made me feel like I could start my own journey as someone else's hero, really make a difference in the lives of the children I was working with."
Phillip Bergquist, YMCA Camp Copneconic
"After hearing all the "do"s and "do not"s about camping during staff training, I was feeling quite overwhelmed. Langdon's closing session, The Hero Workshop, really revived my hope for the summer. It gave me some perspective on the experience and gave me motivation to go out into that new world, conquer the obstacles, and return home a changed person, a hero."
Hannah Hudson, YMCA Camp Storer
"The Hero Workshop really put the upcoming summer into perspective for me."
Aaron Romoslawski, YMCA Camp Copneconic
