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By Keela Keeping
 | | Kids launch out at Pioneer Pacific camp on Thetis Island. |
AS A single parent on a fixed disability pension, a
father looks after his three sons, ages 13, 12 and 10.
“It’s hard at times making ends
meet,” he has said, “but we are a family and have love for each
other.”
Every year, the boys ask if they can go to camp, and
every year the answer is the same – they just don’t have the
money. Last year, however, was different.
Mitchell – whose real name is not being used,
for the sake of privacy – applied and qualified for a special camp
sponsorship program.
It is offered annually, through Union Gospel Mission
(UGM), to the Lower Mainland’s most needy children.
Mitchell beamed with excitement when he was finally
able to tell his kids: “Yes, you’re going to camp this
summer!”
In a letter to UGM, Mitchell expressed that
“this year you made three young boys very, very happy, and made a
dream come true . . . .
“By sponsoring my sons you, also made me believe
that there is hope for our family.”
But initially, taking the kids to camp did pose some
concerns for Mitchell.
All three boys are challenged with Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity and Alcohol Spectrum Disorder – and Mitchell
wasn’t sure how they would do on their own.
Still, he left the boys at camp, trusting that they
would be okay in the hands of the staff.
At the end of the week, Mitchell’s fears were
dissolved. When he picked up the boys, they could not stop talking about
what a wonderful experience they’d had.
“I was very pleased with how the staff handled
my children,” said Mitchell. “My sons are back in school, and
still talk about camp. All three have done stories in class about the great
time they had.”
Mitchell’s kids are just three of 750
underprivileged children who were able to go to camp last year through
Union Gospel Mission’s donor camp sponsorship program.
“For many children, it’s their first time
outside of the inner city, and the first time they experience
nature’s beauty,” explained Jenna Amundson, UGM camp and family
ministries worker.
She describes kids being scared of the quiet and the
dark when they first arrive, having never been away from the
city’s noise and landscape, where lights are always on. Camp
for many is the first time they see a starlit sky so clearly.”
Amundson said many of these kids are so used to
watching their back that they constantly lock doors and are fearful of
strangers – even though they’re miles away from everything.
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She further explained that at home, many of these
children have stressful lives, where they have a major role in taking care
of siblings, taking on financial stresses – or they are acting as a
sounding board for a stressed-out single parent.
Amundson, describes kids being able to let go of all
those responsibilities, and just be a kid.
“They can run in wide-open spaces without having
to look out for drug paraphernalia,” she said. “When
we’ve taken them to the beach, some kids are simply mesmerized,
spending hours turning over rocks, picking up crabs and doing all kinds of
beachcombing.”
These kids are not only exposed to new experiences
with nature, but also with people.
“At camp, they’re given an opportunity to
build relationships with caring youth leaders, make new friends, develop
new skills and experience success at challenging activities,” said
Amundson.
UGM children who are sponsored for camp are also given
a brand new backpack with special supplies, including: a flashlight, a
Bible, a camp T-shirt, first aid kit, rain poncho, socks, baseball hat,
toothbrush, toothpaste and a disposable camera with a flash.
For anyone interested in sending a kid to camp through
UGM’s kid’s camp program, a donation of $45 will send a child
to camp for a day, while a $315 gift will send a child to summer camp for
an entire week.
In addition, UGM Camp Ministries staff work with the
organization year-round to coordinate follow-up events that continue to
serve the children throughout the year.
Union Gospel Mission has been assisting hungry and
homeless men, women, youth and children for nearly 70 years, through
counselling, education and drug recovery.
Contact: ugm.ca.
April 2009
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