| Camps add background checks, increase fees By Linda WorthingtonUMConnection Staff  Even while the snow and ice are piling up, volunteers are being recruited for summer camping programs in the Baltimore-Washington Conference which will draw more than 1,800 young people to the conferences three campgrounds.
The conference operates retreat and camping facilities at West River near Deale, Camp Harmison near Berkeley Springs, W. Va., and Camp Manidokan near Harpers Ferry, W. Va. The first week of camp is June 11 at West River. The camping programs will continue, week-by-week and weekend-by-weekend, through the last camp at Manidokan Aug. 22. Some major changes at the camps have been announced for this year. A new policy requires background checks of everyone clergy and laity, volunteer and staff who works in the camping programs. Another is a rise in the costs of camping. The two are not unrelated. Bills for camping will show an overall increase of $30, due solely to the increase in staff to manage the required background checks for approximately 400 volunteer camp counselors and leaders. These are the only factors in raising the cost of camp, said Amy Marshall, administrative assistant for retreat and camping ministries. The background checks are something we have to do, said the Rev. Rob Walker who heads the conference camping committee. You want to be able to trust people who are volunteering. We must be able to protect our children. Each volunteer director received a package with enough forms for their volunteer team, Marshall said. The forms were mailed late last year and must be returned by May 20. It may be a bit of a nuisance to fill out, but that shouldnt matter, said Dave Showalter, youth pastor at St. Paul UMC in Lusby. Whatever it takes to keep our kids safe, Im willing to do, he said. Camp managers also report they will be increasing their use of the Share Our Worlds program this summer. This General Board of Discipleship program places one or two camp counselors who are citizens of other countries at conference camps. Last summers counselors were from the Philippines and Ghana. Its immeasurable the effect this program has had, said the Rev. Vivian McCarthy, the associate council director who oversees the camping program. She hopes this year to have four such counselors, two at West River and two at Manidokan. To assist children who may not be able to afford camp, the conference provides camperships. Churches may apply for camperships for their young people to help defray costs, McCarthy said. Some churches choose to split a campership between two applicants. This financial assistance is possible because of offerings taken by local churches on Camping Sunday, which this year is Feb. 29. Camperships at $125 each are also funded by the interest from the Camping Endowment Fund. Last years Camping Sunday contributions for camperships, which will be used this summer, totaled $16,176. The United Methodist Women and the Baltimore Community Foundations Fresh Air Fund also provide camperships. The summer camping brochures are expected to be mailed to all churches this month. | 
Login/Register to leave comment