We love our volunteers! From helping to paint buildings, to cleaning vans and windows, to helping prepare meals and fill bags for our food bank, volunteers really help relieve a major burden of work at The Hope Center.

And when young people come to volunteer at The Hope Center, it’s a very special thing. When young people are given the chance to volunteer to help others, their lives and outlook on life changes.

That’s why we were so happy to have three students from Stone Bridge Academy stop by The Hope Center and help prepare the outdoor facilities for Camp Wild.

But what makes this so special is that one of our former Camp Wild leaders was the teacher who brought the students to volunteer.

Christy White has been a volunteer at Wildside Youth, the children’s ministry at The Hope Center which hosts Camp Wild, for years. She’s been a leader during after-school parties and a counselor at Camp Wild for many years.

She knows the amount of work that goes into preparing and running Camp Wild and she wanted to bring some students who could help with manual labor and learn something in the process.

These students helped paint the playground set, clear brush, and assist in setting the flag poles in cement in preparation for the upcoming Camp Wild season.

When asked why they wanted to come out and volunteer, each replied that they genuinely enjoy helping others.  They were excited to help, knowing that kids, like themselves, would benefit from the camp this summer.

One student is a former Camp Wild camper and appreciates what Camp Wild has to offer.  She stated that Camp Wild is a good place to go for local kids, because it keeps them out of trouble.  She liked learning about God and really connected to last year’s theme of learning about what God has planned for your life, memorizing Jeremiah 29:11.

After the group was finished working for the day, they received a tour of the grounds from Wildside Youth director, Adrian Black.  The students were excited to hear about the new attractions coming this year and for the next years to come.  Each girl is looking forward to coming back and to further help in projects leading up to camp’s first week in July.  They also hope to come back as camp volunteers and experience all Camp Wild has to offer.

Christy was so encouraged in seeing how excited her students were in coming out on a hot summer day to haul buckets of water and be willing to get a little paint on themselves, and being genuinely excited for the kids who will benefit from having their facilities upgraded.  It was great seeing them working so hard and not wanting to stop until the work was finished.

We are always thankful for volunteers! If you would like to get involved as an individual or bring a group, just call 301.739.1165 or email us at hagerstownrescue@verizon.net. If you are interested in volunteering at Camp Wild this summer, please call immediately! There are only a few short weeks left before Camp Wild kicks off for 2013.

To learn more about Camp Wild, go to www.campwildusa.com.