It’s no secret at Assumption High School that service is an integral part of our community. With Sophomore ACTS, Junior ACTS, Mission Week, and hundreds of service opportunities, Assumption is a beacon of hope in our local community. Last summer I had the opportunity to volunteer at a Kentucky Lions Youth Camp, and it completely changed my outlook on service. Now, the camp is in danger. 

The specific camp that I became a counselor for was called Camp Freedom. The camp was a completely free camp specifically designed for children in the American foster care system. The camp lasted for one week during the summer and was located about an hour outside of Louisville. Even though it was close to home it felt like somewhere completely different. In the mornings fog would hang over distant tall hills and every space felt vast.  

I’ll admit that when the week began I was worried about the behavior of the kids, foolishly stereotyping that each kid would be badly behaved because of their often-tumultuous home lives. And while there were some temper tantrums and the occasional whine here and there; the kids were lovely. So lovely in fact that I began to adore each and every one of them.  

It hurt me so deeply to know what they had likely gone through in their lives. Before the children arrived, the counselors received “trauma training”. The training was an instructional course on how to avoid triggering the trauma that many of these kids have experienced. This included not hugging them unless they initiated, raising hands slowly even when just trying to give a high five, and not yelling too loudly even in disciplinary moments. But even so, the children were absolutely joyful and so happy to have a sense of normality for just a week. We kayaked in the lake, ran across the valleys, played games, stayed up late, joked about the curdled milk in the cafeteria, and more. Sending the kids home to their foster families at the end of the week broke my heart, but I knew just how important the camp was to each of them. 

The camp usually runs annually, but when I tried to sign up for the camp this year the option for Camp Freedom was gone. The camp that had been so important to so many is no longer running due to governmental and donor budget cuts. In order to keep the camp completely free for the kids the camp directors rely directly on donors and government aid.  

So, I implore you to find a place of service that makes not only an impact on you, but you make an impact on it. I am determined to find a way to keep Camp Freedom running and have been talking with other counselors about how we can keep it going next year. You can make a difference, oftentimes a difference will be made to you too.