Yellow school buses fanned out to the House of Ruth and the Druid Heights YWCA on Monday to pick up 140 homeless children for the first day of what promises to be a happy summer spent at Camp St. Vincent in Patterson Park.
The day camp for children ages 5 to 12 holds classes in reading, math, art and music in a Head Start building at Patterson Park Avenue and Gough Street. Daily swimming takes place at the park pool, and a circle of tents house other activities.
There is also a social and emotional development component of the curriculum that teaches life lessons in themes of respect, self-esteem, and love of the family and community.
The camp united two friends, Destine Thomas, a student at SS. James and John Catholic Academy, and Chandler Cole, a Samuel Coleridge Taylor Elementary public school student. Both say they enjoy reading, math and science.
"We like the field trips, too," said 11-year-old Destine.
The camp used to be for children from needy families. But tough times, the economy and foreclosures prompted one of the city's oldest summertime charities to change its outreach to homeless children.
The camp's organizers said that their research shows that most homeless children experience specific physical, psychological and emotional damage.
"Camp St. Vincent's program is specifically designed for children living in shelters and transitional housing in the Baltimore region and addresses the impact of homelessness on academic, social and emotional development," said John Schiavone, St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore's director.
"We see firsthand the tremendous benefits our camp has on children who are experiencing the trauma of being homeless," he said. "A nurturing summer camp experience can make a world of difference in the lives of these children. It restores their spirit and helps them cope with the challenges that their families are facing."
The camp, headed by Howard County public schools employee Vena Carter, is staffed by instructors and a number of volunteer counselors working in community service.
"You get the satisfaction of knowing you made their summer special," said Tylar Abrams, a 16-year-old Catholic High School of Baltimore student who is a returning volunteer counselor. "The kids are so honest and so real. They laugh. They cry. And they make friends."
The camp is one of the continuing projects of St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore, a lay-run charity with a mission to "help people who are suffering from the effects of poverty meet their basic human needs and achieve a better future for themselves and their families."
Founded in 1908, the camp began as a "fresh air" experience for city children who would not otherwise have a vacation. Its purpose and location changed as it went from being an overnight camp with sites on U.S. 40 and Rolling Road, a tract on the South River and in Sparks.
"One of the beauties of St. Vincent de Paul as an organization is its ability to minister directly. It is not a thirdhand charity," said the Rev. Michael Roach, who was a counselor at the camp in the 1960s and is now pastor of St. Bartholomew's Roman Catholic Church in Manchester. "The camp enabled kids from city parishes to have a week of healthy fresh air. It was racially integrated, too, and run under the watchful eyes of the Sisters of the Holy Cross."
Camp St. Vincent receives annual support from individuals, church groups, corporations and private foundations that sponsor a child at $1,400 for a summer or $180 for a week. The number of sponsors determines how many children attend each year.