(Media release from Georgia Highlands College):
The annual Foundation Camp for boys aged 10 to 14 will return to Georgia Highlands College (GHC) and will be held at GHC Floyd Campus starting July 8.
Applications for the long-running camp are currently being accepted.
The camp is a testament to the strong community support and collaboration between the 100 Black Men of Rome-Northwest Georgia and Georgia Highlands College. It is funded by generous donors and the GHC Foundation, free of charge, ensuring a safe and enriching experience for your child, including transportation, breakfast and lunch.
The camp will run from July 8 through July 19 (with no camp on Saturday or Sunday).
Camp days begin at 8AM and conclude at 2:45PM each weekday. Transportation within Rome will be provided with bus routes beginning at 7AM.
The Foundation Camp is a safe place where children can form lifelong connections, develop core memories and learn structure. Establishing structure for children can help foster a sense of security and promote discipline. Ages 8-14 are vital years in a young man’s life. Foundation Camp staff feel it is essential to help steer our young ones in the right direction.
“There are obstacles that young men in Floyd County may face, and the best preparation for any obstacle is preparedness,” Camp Director and Associate Professor of Mathematics Maurice Wilson said. “The GHC Foundation Camp strives to prepare them by providing access to places, people and experiences they may not have encountered in their community.”
Wilson understands the gravity of how important it is for young teens to be heard and valued, but most importantly, to have a role model. According to the National Library of Medicine, youth can form attachments to a central figure outside of the home, such as a teacher or coach, and children with poor attachments to parents or any central figure are prone to a higher delinquency rate.
“We want each young man to know they are more than gangs, more than the shoes or clothes they wear, more than a statistic, more than an athlete, more than music, more than an entertainer, “Wilson said.” They are handsome, they are smart, they are whatever they believe themselves to be. As Frederick Douglas once said, ‘It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.’”
For more information and to apply, contact foundationcamp@highlands.edu
