Sierra Club sponsors Military Kids to Camp

Camp is great place for kids to learn to make new friends, spend quality time challenging yourself and to experience nature hands-on. Kids with parents in the US Military can benefit even more from these camp-learned skills, as they often find themselves relocated or trying to fit in to a new community. The Sierra Club realized this, too. They have been helping to send kids from the USS John C. Stennis to YMCA Camp Seymour for the past four summers. The program includes an environmental education component that encourages kids to learn about sustainability, ecology, interdependence and connectedness to the planet and our local communities.

One of the mom's shared a letter, after her girls returned from camp...

I wanted to take the time to express to you, and The Sierra Club, what a blessing this camp has been to our family. My girls have been able to attend Camp Seymour twice (in 2010 and 2011) due to the scholarships offered to the children of those serving aboard the USS John C. Stennis.

As you can imagine, the schedule of an aircraft carrier is hectic and the girls' dad has been gone more than he has been home while on board the JCS. We do our best to keep things normal during these periods of time and knowing that there is a week filled with fun and new friends ahead gave the girls something to look forward to this past summer, four weeks after the ship left on deployment. It also gave me the peace of mind to be able to relax knowing that my girls were safe and were having a great time at camp, making new friends and getting reacquainted with friends from last year's camp.

Spending a week with other kids who are walking the same road as you has a profound effect -- it lets you know that you are not alone, there are others out there that are having the same feelings as you. It also helps you to connect quickly with those other kids because you share a common bond in that both families have a gaping hole in them at the moment.Their respective counselors listened and cared about what the girls had to say.

The girls were overflowing with stories of the adventures of their week at Camp Seymour. I am sure if we were to stay in this area you would have future camp counselors in a few years -- that's how much my girls love this camp.

Cari Baumer - Mom

On behalf of camp and the children served this past summer, we wanted to say thank you to the Sierra Club for caring about the families of our US soldiers. Together we can continue to yield fantastic kids, that are more resilient, better environmental stewards and better prepared for whatever comes next in their lives.

We are looking forward to our first, Military Family Camp Weekend, coming up soon.