The Catlin area’s Camp Drake was busy Thursday as about 300 youth attended a one day camp. It marked the first time in over two years that activities were held there because of the COVID pandemic. Jared White, Scout Executive of the Prairielands Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said the youth came from several areas….
{AUDIO: ‘’We have people from Danville Project Success and the Boys and Girls Club. And then from the Champaign-Urbana area we have Dream, and then we also have from Rantoul, we have (the) Rantoul Multicultural Center. And we have Urbana Neighborhood Connections out here.’’}
White (shown here) says extra steps were taken to make sure the youngsters stayed safe in the heat….
{AUDIO: ‘’We make sure we keep them hydrated. We’ve got water stations all around camp making sure these kids are staying hydrated. And their leaders made them bring water bottles. And they’re saying: ‘Stop, have drinks – sit in the shade when you can.’ They can’t always do that in all places but we’re trying to make sure that happens.’’}
White says the children had an opportunity to enjoy various activities…
{AUDIO: ‘’You know, we want these kids to experience things they wouldn’t normally get to experience in any other setting. So we have them out at our range, and they’re learning about firearm and bow and arrow safety – and they’re able to shoot those. We’re doing some different crafts. We’ve got our pool open just so they can get cooled off and they can have a great time because of our 90-degree heat and humidity we have out here today. And then it’s like a dodge ball variant they’re getting to play. And they’re making different food things as well.’’}
The firearms White mentioned in that comment are B-B guns.
Project Success participants at Thursday’s camp are from Garfield, Mark Denman and Meade Park Elementary Schools in Danville. Project Success has youth from all across Vermilion County attending special camps this summer.
