Swimming, archery and canoeing may not be the activities typically associated with The Salvation Army, but 65 children from low-income families may think otherwise. For the next week, the non-profit organization is sponsoring its annual “Fresh Air Camp.”
The campers left earlier this week.
“It’s really just our way to give these kids the opportunity to do things that they wouldn’t ordinarily get to do,” said Salvation Army area director Tania Yount. “And we’re happy to do it.”
Making recommendations based on need, The Salvation Army, the Children’s Crisis Center and the Duval County School System is sending campers to Camp Keystone for a week where they can do “pretty much whatever you can do at a regular camp.”
“The kids always have a lot of fun,” said Yount. “We even have some camp back each year.”
Major Frank Harding, area commander for The Salvation Army, is an advocate of the camp and other such opportunities saying, “many of [the children] have never been outside the urban core of the city and most of them have never been had experience of paddling a canoe or sitting on a horse.”