YOUNGSTOWN Camp tries to give Children a Chance

The camp will feature crafts, gardening, games and more.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Kathryn Hawks Haney wants children living on the city's East Side to have something to do this summer.
That's why her organization, Give the Children a Chance Inc., will have a monthlong "Community Summer Camp" on her property at 133 S. Truesdale Ave. for children ages 7 through 13. The camp will run July 3-31.
It will all be free, running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, said Hawks Haney, chief executive officer of Give the Children a Chance Inc., an organization she founded 15 years ago as an answer to the black-on-black killings plaguing the city at that time.
Camp plans
The camp will be held under a big tent that can seat up to 100 people, she said.
Meals, donated through the Summer Food Program run by the Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership, will be provided to participants every day.
The camp will feature crafts, gardening, games, music and more, Hawks Haney said.
The camp will also hold evening discussion programs for adults, covering topics such as financial help, unemployment, education, self-esteem and parent/child relationships.
The big tent will go up June 30, Hawks Haney said.
One of the camp highlights will be a July 17 parade around East Side streets, starting on South Truesdale. Drill teams, bands, dancers, singers and others are being invited to participate, Hawks Haney said. The parade will line up at 9 a.m. and begin at 10 a.m.
It will end back at 133 S. Truesdale, where residents will be invited to bring their lawn chairs and a favorite covered dish for a community picnic.
The camp will provide hot dogs and drinks.
Hawks Haney, a member of the city board of education, said she doesn't know how many children to expect at camp, but she plans to drive up and down the streets of her neighborhood with a bullhorn inviting them to attend.
She's enlisted a core group of volunteers to help run the camp, including the Ton'z Sisters, a weight-loss group that has become instrumental in helping Give the Children a Chance implement its various programs.
There's always room for more volunteers, she said. Those wanting to help should call her office at (330) 747-2273.
Hawks Haney said the camp project also is designed to bring unity to the neighborhood, give people a chance to know each other, and work together to improve the area.
Organization's history
Give the Children a Chance started with a 300-voice young people's choir that toured the city and surrounding areas. The choir no longer exists although there is talk of reviving it, Hawks Haney said.
Meanwhile, the organization has grown and expanded with a variety of community service programs, including an annual blanket drive for children, running a summer grocery program for families in need, offering free computer classes, giving out scholarships and even coordinating volunteer and fund-raising efforts to help a nursing home-bound East Side man make his house handicap accessible so he can return.
gwin@vindy.com