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Camp Woodside offers lunch and learning
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Watson Elementary's Mia Odon (right) received a free lunch at the Camp Woodside Summer Lunch Program. The lunches were provided through the Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership.
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Camp Woodside volunteer Donna Cooper questions students on the Bible stories they just listened to. She calls on them one by one to hear their answers.
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Neighbors | Shaiyla Hakeem .Austintown students attending the Camp Woodside Summer Lunch Program participate in interactive Bible stories, hymns and games throughout the day. Here, students represented the different things God created as they listened to the story of creation.
The story of God’s great rescue is the theme for this annual Austintown summer program.
The Camp Woodside Summer Lunch Program, formerly known as the Summer Lunch Program, is back for another summer of Christian education. The program began June 14 and will be held weekly through July 30.
It is intended for students who have completed kindergarten through fifth grade in the Austintown school system. Students are dropped off at Woodside Elementary at 11 a.m. and picked up at 1 p.m.
The day includes games and teachings through Bible stories, singing and a free lunch. The program is interdenominational.
Each week, a different Austintown church sends volunteers to help with the camp.
The summer program was founded last year by the Greater Austintown Ministerial Association.
Camp Woodside director Nate Childers said this is his first year with the program, but has big goals set for the future. The program was initiated by Austintown pastors to meet the needs of the community. A summer program for students was deemed as a necessity.
Childers said many may think there is only funding available for urban summer programs, but this is not the case.
The money is there, but there is still a need for volunteer workers and organizational sponsors.
“I want this program not only to grow in Austintown, but to expand into other suburbs as well,” Childers said.
The camp is still open for new participants and is free of charge.
Parents can register their children by stopping by the elementary during camp hours.
For more information, visit www.campwoodside.org.