It was another amazing summer for 32 children and young people who were invited to attend the Scripture Union camps over the summer. Circle’s partnership with Prison Fellowship Scotland and Scripture Union Scotland continues to be incredibly successful with 252 children and young people having attended camps since 2013.
Leaving home to go to camp can be somewhat daunting as you’re not too sure of where you are going and a little anxious about meeting other children and young people. However those worries and fears of doing something for the first time are soon allayed by the welcome children and young people receive from the Scripture Union teams. Along with jam packed activities throughout the week such as raft building, gorge walking, pony trekking and musical theatre, the friendships children and young people develop with each other and their team leaders are wonderful, with one child commenting:
“the best thing about camp was that it was very welcoming and felt like it was a big family”.
The camps offer children and young people new opportunities to try new activities that they wouldn’t necessarily get a chance to participate in. Overwhelmingly, children and young people comment on the fantastic experiences of getting to try new activities:
“the activities were absolutely amazing and some were quite scary.”
We can’t underestimate the powerful impact attending camps has for the children and young people in providing them with experiences that increase their confidence and inspire them to think about what they may like to do as they grow older:
“young person spoke about her learning about filming – has really impacted on what she thinks she would like to do in the future” (Family Outreach Worker).
One worker had the opportunity to visit one of the camps for dinner and commented on the nurturing environment created by the Scripture Union team with children being read bedtime stories every night. Equally parents have commented on the positive impact of their child experiencing Scripture Union camps with one stating:
“and just to add my own bit….I honestly think this can be the change in (daughter) that we’ve been looking for since she came back. She’s been a lot more helpful around the house and it’s just been a pleasure to have her right now absolutely no hassle whatsoever. When I compare this time to last year I was close to giving up so think this camp this year has helped a lot with her attitude and behaviour” (Parent).
We would like to offer our sincere thanks to Scripture Union and Prison Fellowship Scotland for their continued encouragement and commitment to this partnership. The financial support from Scripture Union and Prison Fellowship Scotland ensures children and young people continue to experience these positive opportunities that are so meaningful to all. One parent whose three children attended camp stated:
“All 3 would like to thank the funders because without them they wouldn’t get to do things like the camps. Many thanks from me as a parent too” (Parent).
THANK YOU!