Wednesday, October 25, 2023
The camp experience can be life changing for so many young people, providing opportunities for the next generation to discover new interests, expand horizons, and experience the wonderful outdoors. This summer, as part of a first-year program, Milwaukee Public Schools sent 163 students to overnight camps throughout the state of Wisconsin.
MPS students in grades 4-8 in the 2022-23 school year were eligible to participate in the MPS Overnight Camp Program this past summer, an opportunity that was made possible through another round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER lll) funding for school districts to address the impact of COVID-19 on schools and students. When MPS stakeholders expressed strong interest in sending students to overnight camp, a portion of ESSER lll funding was set aside to offer this extracurricular opportunity in 2023 and 2024.
The entire overnight camp experience was free for MPS families, as MPS used ESSER III funding to cover the cost of camp registration, camp-provided transportation to and from camp, and a camper supply kit. Fifty-eight percent of campers requested a full or partial camper supply kit, which contained a reusable water bottle, bathing suit, sunscreen, a towel, toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, shampoo), insect repellant, bedding, a backpack, and a flashlight.
“Some of these young people have never been to camp before, let alone away from home without their families, and I think that is a huge growth opportunity,” Milwaukee Recreation’s program manager April Heding said. “They [met] new people, they [learned] to socialize differently. We’ve heard so much about nature…, feeling safe, and feeling like they can be children again.”
This year’s campers represented 48 different MPS schools and 25 different zip codes. Seventy-four percent of the campers were students of color.
Seven camps in Wisconsin participated in the MPS Overnight Camp Program this year, including four-week sessions at North Star Camp for Boys (Hayward, Wis.), Camp Timberlane for Boys (Woodruff, Wis.), Camp Menominee for Boys (Eagle River, Wis.), Camp Marimeta for Girls (Eagle River, Wis.), and Birch Trail Camp for Girls (Minong, Wis.), as well as one-week sessions at Camp Helen Brachman (Almond, Wis.) and Camp Whitcomb/Mason (Hartland, Wis.).
Parents and guardians of participating campers shared that their children tried a variety of new activities which they would not have experienced otherwise, including outdoor cooking, map reading, ropes course activities, archery, canoeing, fishing, water skiing, tubing, guitar, and pottery.
Tammy, an MPS parent who sent her son, Miles, to Camp Timberlane for Boys, noticed a positive change upon his return. “After having been away for four weeks, and having to clean up his own cabin and take care of things himself, he came home with a little of that sense of responsibility from camp,” she said.
Eighty-five percent of parents and guardians surveyed after the summer indicated that without the MPS Overnight Camp Program, it is unlikely they would have sent their child to an overnight camp this summer. Eighty percent of parents and guardians stated their child returned from their overnight camp with more confidence.
“[One camper], first day, his mom dropped him off and he was… homesick,” Zion, a camp counselor at Camp Whitcomb/Mason and a senior at Rufus King High School, said. “Two hours later, this man was having fun.”
Among the students surveyed after their overnight camp experience, 77 percent indicated a strengthened affinity for nature, 83 percent said their desire to travel to new places increased, and 75 percent noted they improved their interpersonal skills with friends.
“I feel like camp is a completely different experience from being at home or going to school,” Isabella, a camper at Camp Helen Brachman, said. “It’s just an experience I feel everyone should try.”
Overnight camps can create lifelong opportunities for all ages, whether they are friendships that last beyond the summer or skills that impact future career paths.
“It brings out the best. It brings out things you didn’t know were inside of you,” Jaden, a camp counselor at Camp Helen Brachman, said. “That’s what it has done for me, and I am 100 percent sure that is what it will do for future campers and parents.”