Naperville Y camp offers youths a chance to volunteer

Naperville-area kids in grades six through eight can get a taste of what it’s like to volunteer to help others this summer during a Fry Family YMCA program called Camp EDGE.

Middle-schoolers will learn about ways to help their community during three different sessions of the camp — June 11-15, June 18-22 and July 9-13 — at Neuqua Valley High School’s Gold Campus, 2360 95th Street, Naperville.

Different activities are planned for each session, and youngsters can attend one, two or all three weeks of the program.

The cost is $220 per week for YMCA members and $250 for nonmembers for the regular camp hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Extended hours also are available from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at a cost of $240 for YMCA members and $270 for nonmembers. Scholarships are available for families who can’t afford to pay.

The goal of Camp EDGE is right in its name: Educate, Develop, Give and Experience. Along with volunteer work, kids will participate in various team-building exercises such as going through obstacle courses, orienteering and playing games to help build self-confidence, leadership and problem-solving skills.

It’s exactly what is needed for teenagers and preteens, according to Judy Ellertson, executive director of Fry Family YMCA and Y Sports Complex. She believes Camp EDGE is an “excellent opportunity for a diverse experience that will prepare them for the future,” she said in a written statement.

Kids will be helping out at places like Feed My Starving Children, the DuPage Children’s Museum, DuPage PADS, and the Naperville Humane Society. They’ll pursue a variety of activities, including walking dogs and cleaning cages, prepping and packaging food to send overseas for those in need, and making lunches and blankets for the homeless.

Organizers say some of those projects may seem small on the surface, but they will give campers a feel for what it’s like to truly help people and even animals in need.

Camp director Sean Roe was inspired to develop the program from his own experiences when he was in middle school. He assisted at a DuPage PADS homeless shelter and he says the experience working there was eye-opening.

“When you think of homeless people, you think they’re all in Chicago,” Roe said. “Then you see that they’re here, in the suburbs, and it’s very shocking”

Roe believes that giving up free time to help out is a good way to establish an identity and find a passion in life.

“Kids at this age can be very self-involved, which isn’t always a bad thing,” Roe said, “but they can be naive, and volunteering teaches kids to not just help themselves, but to help their community.”