Oaklee’s guest post by Todd Hertz, Christ Community Church communications director
Last summer, Christ Community Church in St. Charles made a massive change to its normal summer programming for kids. Instead of the normal one-week, half-day program, Christ Community launched the all-summer, all-day Camp Commotion. I talked to camp director Randy Isola about that change and what Camp Commotion offers in 2015.
Q. Why change to 10 weeks of day camp?
A. We wanted to serve families in our community who need a place for their kids to spend their days over the summer. With 10 weeks of camp at only $120 per week and optional early morning and late afternoon care available, Camp Commotion can be a cost-friendly full-time summer care option.
Q. Do families need to attend the church or be Christians?
A. Families that participated last year ranged from those who needed affordable all-summer childcare to families simply looking for a safe, fun place for their child to have one or two weeks of summer camp experiences. And we were happy to provide that option for any family regardless of their involvement with our church. We do teach lessons from Scripture. We communicate to parents each week what we are teaching and welcome questions. We explore values such as honesty, fairness, and serving others. Whether a camper or their family believes in God, we believe that teaching these principles will make their family lives better.
Q. What is new for 2015?
A. At Camp Commotion, campers choose a “Commotion Crew” for the week. They can choose to concentrate on sports, cooking, science, and more. If the kid attends more than one week, they can choose a different crew each week. This year, we have added several new crew activities including Outdoor Adventure, Commotion Olympics, Cheerleading, and Flying Things.
Q. What is one thing you hope campers take away?
A. With our low camper to counselor ratios, our goal is that every camper will leave Camp Commotion knowing that they are known and cared for by someone.
Registration for Camp Commotion is now open at campcommotion.org.
