Nearly a decade on, DeKalb’s Camp Power balances fun, games and learning for University Village youth

DeKALB – It’s not all fun and games at one local summer camp for youth in DeKalb.

At Camp Power, a program spearheaded by the Kishwaukee Family YMCA, kids are empowered to grow their abilities.

With nearly a decade of camp programming under their belts, staff say the 10-week community summer program continues to encourage area youth in DeKalb’s University Village to have fun, work hard and keep learning.

“We’re trying to give them opportunities that they wouldn’t normally have,” Kishwaukee Family YMCA CEO Brian Bickner said. “We’re looking at trying to get some positive impacts out of that area. We want to build some positive relationships between them and the police department. We want to make sure that they’ve got some STEM programming, education and literacy during the summer. Kids during the summer they definitely have a summer learning loss, so we definitely want to give these kids an opportunity to continue learning and hopefully not fall behind.”

Some of the interactive activities offered at Camp Power include field trips, football, sack races and STEM programming.

Each day, participants in the summer program can expect to eat lunch on site, which Bickner said is vital for growing young children.

“We want to make sure they get nutritious lunches during the summer,” Bickner said. “Lot of times, these kids are getting lunches at school, but they don’t have them during the summer. So, we want to make sure they’re getting a nutritious lunch during the summer.”

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Malania Sanders, 6, from DeKalb, enjoys the sack race during Camp Power at Welsh Park in DeKalb. Camp Power, which is run by the Kishwaukee Valley YMCA, is a summer program for youth at University Village that provides positive activities for kids.

Camp Power first got its start in 2014. The summer program has evolved a little bit since then, Bickner said. The free summer camp is available to residents of DeKalb’s University Village. Other DeKalb-area partners also provide features for camp-goers, Bickner said: Northern Illinois Food Bank provides food, the DeKalb Police Department gets officers involved as mentors, Northern Illinois University’s School of Health Studies offers literacy clinics. Area municipal groups also provide support, including the city of DeKalb, DeKalb Township and the DeKalb Park District, which lets campers reserve Welsh Park.

“It was in response to pressing issues facing children and their families in the neighborhood that was significantly impacted by poverty and the lack of opportunity, public safety concerns and quality of life issues,” Bickner said. “It’s a free camp. It’s a collaborative with a bunch of programs that we do.”

This year’s summer program got underway at the end of May with a kickoff party, followed by daily programming which began June 12.

Camp Power Director Alvato Cartman Jr. said the summer program’s staff is very intentional in everything they do about empowering the youth who live in University Village.

“We’ve had them for a little over a month,” Cartman said. “I would say I’ve seen growth and maturity definitely with how our babies govern their emotions. We come to camp and you know, we human. So, something may bother us. We may be frustrated. But how they regulate their emotions and still interact with their peers and staff. I’ve definitely seen growth because that’s something we try to build relationships and make sure everyone feels comfortable here.”

The program usually draws in about 60 kids on a daily basis, which Cartman said makes for a lot of fun and a great experience.

“I’ve got a great team,” Cartman said. “We haven’t had any issues with our campers or anything like that. We’ve built very good relationships. Everybody has had a very good time. So, I would say it’s a success.”

Bickner said he already considers this year’s summer program a success.

“We’re really happy with the way it’s going,” Bickner said. “We’ve got the rest of the summer to go, but so far, it’s been a great camp. I think that the kids are having a great time and learning a lot. That’s the goal that we’ve got. We want them to have activities to do in the summer, keep them active. If they’re not there, they’re at best they’re probably sitting back in the room doing something on a screen time. I’d rather get them out socializing, being active and being out with other kids.”