06 June 2016

Every summer many moms and dads look forward - with a mix of joy and trepidation - to the week they get to spend kid-free while their little ones are at sleep-away camp.

For many kids, camp is a part of growing up: an opportunity to leave the safety of home and family to strike out on their own to meet new people and have new experiences. Generations of Americans have done it and received life-long memories in the bargain.

But for some kids, camp is a vacation from neighborhood bullies and gangs, benign (or not-so-benign) neglect, the sound of gunshots and sirens, and the struggle to get three meals a day. That is, if they can get to camp at all.

If they do, it’s often the first time some have ever gotten to leave the inner city neighborhood they call home. It’s hard to imagine, but many will see a mountain stream, a squirrel, or a pine cone for the first time in their lives.

These same kids get to experience summer camp because someone like you made a financial gift to make it happen.

Do gooders like you donate to send somebody else’s kids to camp.

• Kids in the foster care system who are still waiting for someone they can call mom or dad.
• Kids from your neighborhood whose moms and dads often have to choose between paying bills or putting food on the table.
• Kids in witness protection who are forced to embrace a new identity and a new name.
• Kids whose mom or dad is deployed overseas, serving in the US military.

But when their week at camp is over and they unpack their duffel bags, they’ll find memories of things like toasted marshmallows, conquering their fear on the ropes course, or a cool dip in the lake on a warm afternoon.

They’ll also find a self-confidence they didn’t know they had and friends with shared experiences that we hope will last a lifetime.

But mostly, they’ll bring home love - the deep and abiding love of a God that knows what they’re facing and cares about every detail. A God who will walk beside them for the rest of their lives.

Thank you for being the kind of person who wants to give every kid a chance to experience the life-changing things camp has to offer. Support summer camp now.