Every summer, volunteers gather in Dickens to prepare a respite for at-risk youth from around the region.
The camp is more specifically targeted at youth that fall into that category who are from low-income homes, said Raelynn Beaty, director of development for Camp CrossView.
CrossView is a registered nonprofit created for the purpose of serving underprivileged youth.
For one week at a time each summer, groups of local youth gather for a few days of swimming, paintball, fishing and various other faith-based activities.
“They get three well-rounded meals every day, plus snacks,” Beaty said. “The counselors make sure they feel safe and feel understood.”
For that reason, camp coordinators keep weekly enrollment pretty low.
“Our max is 36 campers a week,” Beaty said. The number is split evenly between boys and girls with the purpose to keep the adult to child ratio to 1:2.
This past summer (of 2023), the camp had enough funds and volunteers to run for six weeks. A total of 102 campers got to participate.
Plans are already underway for the 2024 camp.
“We plan for them year-round,” she said. “Our fiscal year and budget starts over Oct. 1. We’re in the process of having meetings discussing how many weeks of camp we’re going to be able to have next summer.”
That’s one reason why the camp participates in events like Floydada Punkin’ Days where it will host a cake walk fundraiser on Saturday. It relies on community donations to keep going.
“We’re not really a regular church camp. We’re trying to serve the kids in the community that might not have access to a camp like this otherwise,” Beaty said.
Campers come from all over the region – Lubbock, Crosby, Hall, Motley and even Hale County, to name a few.
The cost of one week of camp was about $400 last summer. The money from the organization’s fundraisers goes toward scholarships for campers to attend. Those scholarships help keep the costs down to an average of $30 per campers when possible.
Source : My Plain View
