Iowa children who have a parent deployed in the military are eligible to apply for a free summer camp program that’ll be held next month. Dave Sherry is executive director of the Greater Des Moines YMCA “Y” Camp in central Iowa near Boone.
He says the military children can apply to attend the one-week program to “enjoy just coming out and being a kid and being outdoors, experiencing nature and some good positive fun.” The camp is called Operation Outdoors and Sherry says the program is a way of saying thanks to all Iowans in uniform.
Sherry says, “It’s a way to show appreciation for the service that their family is doing for us and certainly, we want to be able to show respect to them and their family and these kids just deserve an opportunity to have a great summer camp experience.” It’s the second year for this free camp for military children in Iowa.
He says it’s easy to sign up. Contact the family assistance specialist and the Wing Family Program coordinator at Camp Dodge or the Air Guard Wing. The camp will run the week of August 8th. For more information, call (515) 252-4040 or visit www.asymca.org
By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City