Kids 2 Camp
The Salvation Army in Columbia sends needy children to Camp Walter Johnson in the hills of North Carolina. Since 1974, Camp Walter Johnson has served over 55,000 poor children.
Our Kids-2-Camp program is operated at zero cost to the children. Disadvantaged youngsters who have never been away from home before can play ball on a team, hike in the woods, swim in a cold lake, and feel accepted as part of the Kids-2-Camp family.
Kids 2 Camp 2008 Video
Last year, with your donations, The Salvation Army sent 100 needy children to camp, giving them one week of dreams come true. The waiting list for camp this summer is long. The Salvation Army and the Boys and Girls Clubs will accept 300 applications on a first come-first serve basis. The first 200 to qualify are given a camp application and children will attend based on donations. Each child is asked to obtain a letter of recommendation from a teacher, school guidance counselor, or Sunday School teacher or minister.
Each child carries a new backpack filled with a towel, a t-shirt, flashlight, journal and water bottle. Just as important, when the child returns from a week of adventure, the backpack is filled again – with school supplies, school clothes, and a new pair of shoes.
Kids 2 Camp Success Story
Joshua Keaton will be a counselor this summer. He will be returning to familiar territory. Josh first attended the camp twelve years ago, when just 6 years old. He’s now 18 and is working as a Corps Assistant, under Captain Ethan Frizzell, in Columbia, SC. It happens that Josh’s first counselor at Camp Walter Johnson was our own Captain Ethan Frizzell!
Originally from Statesville, NC, one of the things Josh liked most about attending camp was getting a break from his hometown. He made new friends who were different than the ones back home.
Josh’s first exposure to playing music came as a camper. “We always had fun with the music, and it was spiritual,” He says. Josh now plays the trombone, baritone, and bass guitar. He looks forward to the gathering of fellow musicians at camp this summer.
Josh will be assigned as the counselor for a cabin of 14 young boys. From his own experience, he understands the type of impact a camp counselor can have on a young boy Josh thinks it’s important that the boys under his leadership . . . “know they have somebody they can talk with about home . . . Somebody who’s been there and knows where they are coming from.”
Download information about Kids 2 Camp
Information Packet
Scholarship Donation Form
Camp Preliminary Application