About Us

"The Campfire Project invites us to build a warm hearth around which to call others to play, sing, dance, challenge themselves and share a story or two."
Dr. Nisha Sajnani, Campfire Arts Therapy Director
Our Story

There are more than 117.3 million people forcibly displaced around the world, which is more than any other time in modern history. In addition to lacking basic needs - safety, clean water, food, healthcare - displaced people lose their community, and contend with isolation, loneliness, and a sense of hopelessness that further exacerbates the toll on their physical and mental health.
Recent research by the World Health Organization has identified the importance of the arts, with their innate therapeutic qualities and deep roots across cultures, in enhancing physical and emotional support for resilience and wellbeing. Tapping into the power of the arts, during the peak of the Syrian refugee crisis in 2017, Jessica Hecht founded the Campfire Project with producer Jenny Gersten to promote arts-based wellness in refugee spaces and among displaced communities.
Campfire’s programming is developed by mental health professionals, arts therapists, and arts facilitators, engaging diverse arts practices to empower refugees and asylum seekers to explore their creativity, refocus on their humanity, and foster their resilience.
The Campfire Project has led missions in refugee camps and settlements serving displaced communities from across the globe, including 5 trips to Greece, 2 to Moldova and 1 to Uganda. In July 2024, Campfire also turned their attention to their own backyard, in NYC, where over 170,000 undocumented migrants have arrived over the past two years.

Our Partners
The Campfire Project collaborates with multiple partners who bring their expertise to inform our practice and provide resources to expand our impact. These partners include international humanitarian aid organizations, as well as local NYC shelters and institutions. Campfire also collaborates with NYU’s Drama Therapy Program and the The Jameel Arts and Health Lab, supporting scientific research led by these institutions to measure the effectiveness of the arts in improving health and wellbeing. Additionally, the Workers Circle, serves as a foundational partner in our NYC initiatives, providing a weekly home for our programming.
Our work is made possible by generous donations from individuals who align with our mission, as well as key support from our partners:
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Richenthal Foundation
Edward F Limato Foundation
Tiger Baron Foundation

Awards
2024
Actors’ Equity Foundation - Paul Robeson Award
2023
En Garde Arts 2023 Gala Honoree
2022
The Workers Circle - Activism Award
Press
"Jessica Hecht’s ‘Campfire’ Burns Bright" Hadassa, 2024
"Jessica Hecht & Maura Tierney Talk the Campfire Project and Using the Arts to Promote Healing In Refugee Communities" Broadway World, 2023