A non-denominational Christian camp reaching out to wounded children, and dedicated to healing the scars of child abuse

Camp opportunity’s mission is to share a Christian message of love with children who are victims of child abuse and neglect. This message is a positive one of love and support, which assists in building self esteem among the campers. Surprisingly many of these children have not been exposed to a Christian experience at all, yet it is an essential element in healing the wounds of child abuse.

Camp Opportunity has been in existence for over twenty-five years. Started in North Carolina as a dream, the concept spread to Kansas City where the chapter there has sponsored several camps each summer. Currently there are seven camps, operating independently of each other. (North Carolina, Kansas City, Tennessee, Philadelphia, Seattle, Maryland, and San Francisco) There is very little coordination between the camps and each camp has to “reinvent the wheel” in planning their camps. An International organization would assist in cooperative efforts thus making the camps easier to produce.

Our Christian message consists of non-denominational basic beliefs supported by the Bible. We present no specific doctrinal teachings, which would be considered sectarian. Because our message is specifically Christian, a majority of the funding comes from private sources, corporations and foundation grants. Most of the children are currently in foster care and are wards of the state, so our camps work closely with appropriate state agencies to screen and select the children who would most benefit from such an experience. Attendance at the camps is strictly by choice. The state agencies merely make the camping information available to the foster children, and then refer interested children to Camp Opportunity.

Our purpose is three-fold. First, we offer the children an opportunity to feel Christ reaching out to them through others. Many of them have their first experience in Christian community at camp. Second, many of these children are victims of physical or sexual abuse and nearly all are victims of emotional and verbal abuse. This level of abuse can severely damage their self-esteem. Camp Opportunity attempts to implement key programming elements designed to help them improve their self-esteem. Third, we offer experiences of quality friendships with mature adults to demonstrate and model what healthy relationships should be like. These friendships are encouraged to continue throughout the year with letters, phone calls and personal visits.

The camps are staffed with volunteers on a ratio of one camper to one staff member. In addition there are supporting staff consisting of director, cooks, nurses, class teachers and a licensed counselor or social worker. The camps are planned on a week long format with shorter retreats offered as optional follow-up events. We plan for two basic age groups: ages 9-12 and ages 13-16. Occasionally, older youth may participate in a specialized “High Adventure” experience dealing with wilderness camping.

Usually there is no cost to the camper or staff to attend. The entire cost is born out of the camp budget. (Minor exceptions to this rule may occasionally occur depending on the nature of extra-curricular activities). Therefore, the cost to sponsor a child can be significant. Depending on the campgrounds and other variables, expenses can be as much as 500 dollars per camper for the week. Camp size varies from 12-30 campers with the optimum size being 20-22 campers.

Quality control is maintained through the development of guidelines, curriculum, staff training materials, and camp planning manuals prepared at headquarters and distributed to the camps. Staff training at newly established camps is monitored with experienced staff assisting from well established camps.

Camps are usually sponsored by various jurisdictions of churches, either a single congregation or several cooperating congregations may sponsor a camp. Some civic agencies or groups may also wish to sponsor a camp. We ask sponsoring institutions to contract for a period of 5 years, with at least one week long camp per year being offered. Fundraising is accomplished at the International office as well as locally. When local chapters become more established, the expectation is that they will bear a greater share of the expense.

Local sponsors can establish their own governing body with their own non-profit 501(c)3 corporation status, or they may use the sponsoring institution’s non-profit status if it is established. All financial records, at the local level as well as the International level, will be audited by an independent auditor annually, and a report filed with Camp Opportunity International Headquarters.

Our dream is to establish Camp Opportunity in every major city in North America. Child abuse is rampant and the need is apparent everywhere. Helping to heal the wounds of child abuse, and giving the child a healthy relationship with Christ is paramount for us.