At Camp CUMCITO Kids Are Kids
Clyde, 17, lives with his mom and two younger brothers in one of Kansas City’s rough and tough inner-city neighborhoods. Last year, there were 33 homicides and 488 aggravated assaults* in the area surrounding his poverty-stricken neighborhood.
Clyde admits many of his friends are active in the drug scene that is prominent in his high school and in the streets. And a couple years ago, his cousin was only 18 when he was shot and killed in a gang-related fight.
This chaotic and dangerous environment is reality for thousands of impoverished and homeless kids. They are exposed to crime, addiction, prostitution, neglect and abuse at an early age. Sadly, without help, many of these young people will continue the cycle of destruction they’ve come to accept as “normal.”
“Drugs and violence are not the right way,” Clyde says adamantly. “Church and Camp CUMCITO provided the goal for me not to be involved in stuff like that. I want to stay the person I am.”
Since he was 4 years old, Clyde has spent a glorious week each summer at City Union Mission Camp In The Ozarks (CUMCITO) where we give hundreds of boys and girls the chance to experience a different life—a life of security, compassion, understanding, encouragement and hope. We offer them a chance to be kids!
At Tot Lot, our camp for 4- to 6-year olds, caring staff and volunteers shower children with love and attention while they participate in crafts, ride ponies, enjoy three nourishing meals a day (plus snacks!), listen to Bible stories and snuggle their very own stuffed animals. They experience—some for the first time—what it feels like to have their needs come first.
The love and attention doesn’t stop with the little ones. Christian counselors, staff and volunteers at Big Camp extend their hearts and compassion to 7- to 16-year-olds. The weeks at Big Camp are filled with swimming, fishing, hiking, canoeing and just having fun! Through morning and evening chapel, and quiet time in their cabins, kids hear and study the Gospel and the hope it proclaims in Jesus Christ.
“I like the idea that we can expand the kids’ horizons,” shares Scott Hardy, a volunteer camp counselor. “We can show them there is something other than just the streets. They have potential for doing something great with their lives.”
Travis Bradburn, the Mission’s camp administrator, agrees. “The needs of homeless and near-homeless kids are great. But so is our desire to empower boys and girls with the tools to break the bonds of homelessness, poverty, addiction and violence as adults. For five weeks each summer, we have the opportunity to lay the foundation for lives built on Christ and His promises.”
In June, we will celebrate as Clyde graduates from high school. Next year, he plans to go to college and major in business administration. He plans to return to camp one day to help impact the lives of inner-city kids like himself.
*Kansas City, Missouri Police Department Homicide Quarterly, Metro Patrol Division
