MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Summer break - while school’s out the only mission on most kids mind is having fun, at whatever cost. Rather than terrorizing the Station with errand baseballs flying through windows or games of tag in the middle of the street, a select group has come to the rescue and wrangled up the young “Dennis the Menace” clones for the summer.
Camp Adventure is a recreational summer program for children, between the ages of 4 to 12 years old, and is designed to give children the most enjoyable and memorable summer possible.
“This is a wonderful opportunity because a lot of the bases we go to can’t provide enough child caregivers, so we come in and provide them with young energetic college students who are usually studying child development or education,” said Brian Pauly, Station Camp Adventure project manager who the children know as Mr. Incredible. “We get all of these fun, energetic counselors to come in and bring a little magic into these kids’ summer.”
Camp Adventure counselors are each given the name of a cartoon character who they most resemble. With names like Miss Minnie Mouse, Mr. Incredible and Miss Daisy Duck, it’s no wonder these kids look forward to their time at Camp Adventure each day.
“I really like Camp adventure because I have the coolest counselor ever, Miss Daisy Duck,” said 5-year-old Kaitlyn Fernandez, who has been going to Camp Adventure all summer. “She’s so nice and does a lot of fun stuff.”
The counselors are all college students who volunteered 10 weeks of their summer break to provide fond memories for more than 65 youth.
There are currently more than 900 college students taking on the role of Camp Adventure counselors in more than 20 different countries around the world.
The young adventurers are treated to a field trip every Tuesday. Traveling to beaches, wave pools, aquariums and many more exciting destinations, the children’s summer break is full of unforgettable experiences.
“This is definitely my favorite trip so far,” said 5- year-old Jeannie Dignazio, who had a distinct fondness for the wildlife at Oshima Beach during one of Camp Adventure’s weekly field trips. “I found two starfish and one fish. I caught them all but my friend made me let them go because it was Mother Nature’s fish, and I don’t think they liked being caught.”
Not only do the counselors have the chance to enhance Station childrens’ lives, but they also earn 12 college credits for their efforts.
“There are so many good things about this program,” said Danielle Brown, Camp Adventure counselor known as Miss Minnie Mouse. “The travel, the kids and the local people have all been so great. I love kids and travel so this pretty much had my name written all over it.”
Not only does Camp Adventure offer the day camp, but swimming lessons are also available.
Although Camp Adventure is in its 7th week, parents are still able to sign their kids up. Space is very limited.
For more information contact the Youth Center at 253-4769.