Summer Camp Wishes Come True Thanks to Camp for All Kids

Every kid should sleep away at camp at least once in childhood. To rest under the stars and hear nothing but crickets. To spend the day swimming, canoeing and hiking. To make s’mores over a real campfire instead of in the microwave. They’re memories that accompany children well into adulthood, building their appreciation for the great outdoors along the way.

But that time in the woods isn’t always free. Camp fees and transportation costs quickly shove the experience out of reach for many kids and their families. They are left to spend their summers surrounded by concrete instead of nature.

Here in St. Louis, the nonprofit Camp for All Kids is dedicated to helping send underserved elementary and middle school students in St. Louis City, Chicago and Cleveland to one of five premier overnight summer camps in Wisconsin or Minnesota, including Birch Trail Camp for Girls, Camp Kamaji, Camp Timberlane for Boys, Chippewa Ranch Camp, and North Star Camp. Because of the generosity of donors and sponsors, Camp for All Kids will cover the camp fees, excluding transportation, for 21 St. Louis youth this summer.

Celebrating diversity through camping

For campers like Olivia, who first attended Camp Kamaji in Minnesota as a camper in 2006 and most recently as a counselor-in-training in 2013, the opportunity to spend a month in the great outdoors has been life-changing.

Explained her mother, Kendra Neely-Martin, “At camp, participants begin to understand themselves more as individuals while learning to respect differences and skill levels of others. Participants become more independent, take ownership of their roles in the community, and learn the importance of setting and achieving personal and group goals.”

“Did I mention they learn to laugh out loud, splash in puddles, find the balance between man and nature, and discover what stars really look like?” she continued. “Kids get to escape the light and noise pollution of urban communities and trade them for dew-filled sunrises and cold lake swims.”

According to Jon Garrou, chief advancement officer for Camp for All Kids, students apply for 'camperships' through the organization’s partner school, City Academy. Youth are selected for the program based on school performance, attendance and leadership qualities.

“What separates our program from others is that our camperships are renewable for a minimum of five years,” Garrou remarked.

While Camp for All Kids is dedicated to providing a camp experience to youth, its most important goal is to help children discover the similarities and celebrate the differences in all of us. Camp is one place where kids are encouraged to let their incredible personalities shine through, free of judgment and stereotypes that surround us in our everyday lives. This acceptance extends way after camp is over, allowing kids to incorporate what they’ve learned into their own schools and relationships with others.

“Camp for All Kids is invaluable to all campers because it allows kids to experience all levels of diversity – racial, social economic and thought,” explained Neely-Martin. “It’s amazing what you can learn by living with strangers who become friends over a four-week period of time. Camp allows the participants to learn leadership skills, conflict resolution skills, and how to have pure, uncensored fun.”

While camperships have been rewarded for 2014, you can help current campers return to the outdoors next year and provide the opportunity for more children in St. Louis to relive the camp experience you enjoyed as a child. Visit www.campforallkids.org to learn how to sponsor a camper or purchase a copy of Beenie Weenie and Other Delicacies, a camp-inspired cookbook that raises funds for the organization.

As these 21 St. Louis campers spend their days exploring and their evenings around the campfire, there are generous outdoor lovers here in St. Louis who made the experience possible for these incredible kids!

_{Photos courtesy of Camp for All Kids}