For the first time, the Annapolis Police Department is sponsoring a free, four-week summer camp for area children that will combine sports with the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T) program. The camp, spearheaded and led by Officer Mel Brown, teaches boys and girls ages 4-14 different sports each week, and combines its program with an hour of G.R.E.A.T teaching.
Though this is the first time that the Police Department has offered a camp of this length and combined G.R.E.A.T teaching and sports, the department has held weeklong sports camps in the past. However, Brown, whose idea it was to have the four-week camp, said that the problem with shorter camps was that he never got a chance to connect as fully with the kids.
"We always had a fishing camp and a basketball camp, but it would only last one week. The problem was that you couldn't be hands-on with the kids. The only way you can do that is to make the camps longer," Brown said.
Brown's camp works with a group of about 66 children, and he teaches them a different sport each week. The first two weeks they learned basketball and track and field, and this week they will learn how to sail.
"We have the same group of kids for four weeks, so we monitor these kids during the camp and that way we're monitoring their behavior. They know that if they get in trouble back in their neighborhoods, they can't come back," Brown said.
Each day, the children arrive at 9 a.m. and are fed breakfast. Then they get an hour of instruction from the G.R.E.A.T program before going out to learn a sport. They learn anger management, how to resist peer pressure, and the dangers of joining gangs and using drugs.
Brown said that though he tried to cap the number at 30 kids, people kept calling after the deadline, and he couldn't turn any away. So he ended up taking more than double his original limit.
"I remember as a kid sitting at home because my parents couldn't afford camp. I couldn't turn any kids away because I know what the feeling feels like," he said.
He said he thinks offering a free camp is important, especially for people who can't afford to send their kids to camp, because it keeps children busy when school is out and it helps them stay healthy.
"By the time August comes back around and it's time to go back to school, they're behind because they've probably been watching TV all day and sleeping late," he said. "Camp's just like a summer school; it keeps them learning."
Most parents heard about the camp through the police department's e-mail newsletter or by word-of-mouth. Rosa Balomenque, whose son is 4 years old, said she is glad that she was able to send him to the camp.
"There are no other camps like this that I know. I like [Brown], he's really helpful. My English isn't so good so he is talking slowly so I understand," Balomenque said.
On Monday, the group was heading out to sail at Sandy Point. Taijae Holland, 12, an enthusiastic camp participant, was excited to learn to sail. His grandmother sent him to the camp after hearing about it through Brown.
"It's been really fun. We get trophies and I won five medals in track and field last week," he said. "I'm just glad I'm out in the summer doing stuff, because if I wasn't it'd be boring. I'd just be sitting home playing my games mostly."
Though funding was difficult at first, Brown eventually was able to get donations from friends and from the Fraternal Order of Police of Annapolis.
"At one point, I was ready to empty my bank account out to make sure we had the camp. Just to see the joy on the kids' faces coming to the camp, and when one of them wins a game, the joy, it's all worth it. I'd empty my bank account for that," Brown said.