A SUMMER
OF SERVICE
Roo's World "Art of Giving"
Summer Camp pairs campers
with those in need
By Karen Rice
Official Kids Mag
Hands-on lessons in giving back were
part of a fun summer of learning, growing
and making friendships for this month's
Kid Heroes. This great group of kids
from all around Northwest Arkansas
spent the summer helping others, (in
addition to having a lot of fun!) at a
very unique summer camp in Rogers.
The campers, a group of 10-15
year-olds, practiced the "Art of
Giving" by doing community service
projects at various nonprofit groups
in the area during the 8-week
camp, explained Jerusha (Roo)
Winchester, Creator and Director
of Roo's World Summer Camp.
The campers would do a
community service project in
the morning and then on most
days would enjoy a fun field
trip after they finished their
volunteer projects.
"We had 40 days of
summer camp, and they had
32 volunteer opportunity
days and 51 field trips
total," Roo said.
They visited about a dozen different
organizations, interacted with people
(and animals!) from all walks of life and
experienced firsthand the good feeling that
comes from helping others.
They had fun petting, playing and loving on
the dogs at the Centerton Animal Shelter.
At Rogers Health and Rehab they played
games with the residents and planted flowers
for them.
They helped organize and get items ready
for families in need at CARE.
At Alternate Community Education, they
enjoyed helping the farm animals and doing
outdoor chores.
They moved rocks, did lawn care, and
helped with animal care at the Boston
Mountain Youth Ranch.
At Concordia Retirement of Bella Vista,
they loved helping with an ice cream social.
They cleaned windows and other areas at
the Pat Walker Center for Children.
At the Diaper Collective, they had fun
organizing diapers and getting donations
ready.
At Grand Brook Memory Care they played
games and spent time with the residents.
At the Salvation Army/7 Hills Homeless
26 • SEPTEMBER 2023 • www.Of f icialKidsMag.com
