Approximately 50 children got the experience of summer camp last Friday and Saturday during City Camp. The weekend overnight program, held by Atlanta-based Wilderness Works, provided dance classes at Dance 411 Studios and a morning of bowling at Midtown Bowl for the city’s disadvantaged and homeless youth.
Taking on the ideas of journalist Richard Louv and his theories of nature deficit disorder, William Mickler founded Wilderness Works in 1997. “Children need to move and get involved in their surroundings,” said Mickler about the impact of the technology-driven culture.
City Camp provides a positive and healthy environment for Atlanta’s urban youth. The overnight camp provides fun and educational programs that are not only fun, but also focus on character development. “The weekends are always in questions for at-risk youth,” said Mickler. “There is school during the week, but what are their choices on the weekends? City Camp allows them to have some organized fun and get involved in activities they probably wouldn’t do otherwise.”
The children who attend City Camp get involved with art projects, bicycling on trails, community service projects and day field trips around Atlanta. The organization is also partnered with over 10 agencies in Atlanta whose children take part in City Camps and summer camps at Lake Burton, Ga., and Outer Banks, N.C.
“Whether its City Camp or summer camps, the children have fun but also learn to work and engage together,” Mickler shared. “These programs are really essential to get our kids back into nature and provide a nurturing, healthy environment for them.”
Wilderness Works mission is supported by the help of volunteers. They come to help with service projects or become overnight chaperones for City Camps and summer camps. Having mentors and caring adults and at-risk children together, Wilderness Works aims to redirect children’s lives for a better future.
To get involved with Wilderness Works, visit www.wildernessworks.org
Story Update: On Jan. 10, Doing Good covered Giselle Osborn's mission to collect and donate at least 100 French books to Camp Oasis in Haiti. With the community's help, Osborn collected over 600 books to donate to the girls' orphanage. She donated the books on her return trip to Haiti earlier this month.
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