Lucy Jackson, 10, of Aurora has attended a unique camp at her church the last couple of summers and says she looks forward to coming back every year.
“I know tonight we are making some food to help the homeless,” Lucy said Monday night on the first day of the annual Art and Soul camp at Wesley United Methodist Church in Aurora. “Feeding people I’ll never know – I feel good that people will be getting food that they need. Whenever my mom’s driving us somewhere and I see somebody that needs money with a sign I always feel sad for them and ask my parents if they’re going to give them some money for food.”
The four-day camp, being held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. through Thursday at the church, offers kids 4 to 12 years old the chance to experience a variety of activities designed to help them learn more about how various organizations help the community as well as have the kids give back themselves.
The camp began with a free dinner for more than three dozen kids as well as more than a dozen adult volunteers who later turned their attention to making piles of sandwiches that would later be delivered to a community fridge stationed outside Fresh Start City Church at 10 S. Lancaster Ave. in Aurora.
The fridge offers access to food 24 hours a day, seven days a week for community members who may not have the means or ability to get to a food pantry while it is open.
Becky Dunnigan-Meyer, who worked for years with the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, said the community fridge is “a very valuable resource” and that to have “a 24-hour food source is priceless.”
She said the kids in the camp can learn lessons from being a part of the project to make sandwiches for the community fridge.
“For kids to be involved – they need to understand that volunteering is very important as many programs would not move forward without volunteers as well as understanding there are so many more people out there today in desperate need,” Dunnigan-Meyer said. “A sandwich may be all they have to eat in a day.”
The Rev. Tammy Scott, who took over as pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church in Aurora almost a year ago, said the Art and Soul camp has been going on at the church for a few years and is conducted in the evening, rather than during daytime hours, for a number of reasons.
“Many kids are in full-day day camps, so this provides for an evening connection as well as for volunteers to participate,” Scott said. “A lot of parents struggle to find something for kids to do later and we provide a free dinner and something in addition to a full-day camp.”
Like Dunnigan-Meyer, Scott agreed the program would likely “be an eye-opener for kids who don’t realize” there are people who are in need of food in the community.
“It’s a pretty simple way to inform kids of the ‘need to feed’ and make them aware there are hungry people in our community,” she said. “It’s a hands-on activity rather than raising money for this or that and they’re putting bread and meat and cheese together in a sandwich, bagging it up and it’s going over to the community fridge. We’re hoping to make over 100 sandwiches we hope will feed that many in the community.”
Members from Wesley United Methodist Church donated all the materials to make the sandwiches.
Michelle Curiel, camp director and Wesley children and family discipleship coordinator, said the effort the kids are making is important.
“We teach kids how to be there for their community as well as spreading kindness and also loving themselves,” she said.
Claudia Smith of Aurora was one of the volunteers at the camp Monday night, and said she has been a member of the church for six years.
“Kids learn more about sharing and doing something for others that they don’t even see, like (making) the sandwiches,” Smith said of the camp. “They know what it’s for, and it’s a very important thing for them. The second part is you don’t always only receive but you also get to give. Even if it’s not money you give of your time and yourself.”
Lucy Jackson’s mother Amy Jackson has volunteered for the church program and noted Monday night that the Art and Soul camp “was the thing that brought us to this church in the first place.”
“Lucy heard about it and we’ve had so much fun and last year I helped out and my younger one came,” Jackson said. “I love the focus on kids just loving themselves and being who they are and the church does so many creative things with them. I love that kids are learning how they can be good members of our community even by making a sandwich. There are lot of simple ways that even as a kid they can help, and it’s never too early to teach them how to give back.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
