This summer, kids in south Alabama have an opportunity to experience the ultimate day camp — a camp kids generally describe as the “best week ever.”
Winshape Camps for Communities, a weeklong day camp offering dozens of activities, is …
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This summer, kids in south Alabama have an opportunity to experience the ultimate day camp — a camp kids generally describe as the “best week ever.”
Winshape Camps for Communities, a weeklong day camp offering dozens of activities, is coming to Daphne United Methodist Church.
“It's Vacation Bible School on steroids times 10,” says Neil Beasley, youth and community life center director at Daphne United Methodist Church. “These kids are going to come and learn and sing about Jesus and have fun. They're gonna learn sports, science and crazy games. It's for both the kid that wants to stay in all the time and the kid that wants to go out all the time. They're gonna sleep good at night, because they're going to be worn out during the day.”
Winshape Camps are associated with Chick-Fil-A and began 25 years ago as overnight camps in north Georgia. To reach more children, Winshape created Winshape Camps for Communities in 2008, sending teams to churches all over the Southeast to provide communities with a day camp.
Each community must have a host church willing to provide facilities for the week, and Daphne United Methodist Church jumped at the chance.
“We built our community life center in 2005, and the church wanted it to be for the community,” Beasley said. “And this is a community camp. It's non-denominational, and we want to make sure the community is aware of this opportunity. These kids are going to come away from camp with a better sense of pride in themselves and they will be encouraged and included.”
The camp is $189, but scholarships are available for families who cannot afford the cost.
Beasley says he knows it's expensive, but he believes it will be worth every penny. Twenty-five trained college volunteers will run the camp, and there are several tracks available, like wacky science, all kinds of sports, dance and music.
“They're going to learn without knowing they're learning, both spiritually and physically,” he says. “It's going to be well-worth the money. They're going to be learning about different skills they may have never even touched, like digital photography — that sounds expensive to me. But they'll be able to get to get their hands on it and see what it's about.”
Daniel Nance, operator of the Chick-Fil-A in Daphne, says he has put Daphne on the list requesting a Winshape Camp for Communities for three years. Now that it's here, he hopes the community will take advantage of the opportunity — they're hoping to have more than 200 campers.
“They do it in bigger communities typically, but they made an exception for our community,” he says. “It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There won't be anything else like this on the Eastern Shore. As a parent, I would hate for a kid to miss this. My own kids that are of age will be there.”
WHAT: Winshape Camp for Communities
WHEN: July 29–Aug. 3, 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
WHERE: Daphne United Methodist Church, 2401 Main Street, Daphne
COST: $189; scholarships available
AGES: Completed first through sixth grades
THEME: Guard your heart, Proverbs 4:23
REGISTRATION WEBSITE: winshapecamps.org
CONTACT: Neil Beasley, 251-626-2287
Tracks available (campers pick six)
