GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — It’s summer, and kids just want to be kids, like go to camp and do fun activities.
A camp in Grand Prairie is helping underprivileged children who have never even had the chance to do something as simple as water activities.
Tucked away in the city is a summer camp named “Camp Impact.”
“These are younger kids, and they don’t get the chance to live a privileged life that most people strive for,” said Garrett Kaplan.
Kaplan is from Houston and is a camp counselor.
Seeing the children’s faces, makes him smile.
WFAA blurred their faces, because of what they’re going though.
“The environment at home, they’re acting as the adult at home to their younger siblings,” said Lance Friedensohn, a volunteer and director for Camp Impact.
“Having a lot of big responsibilities, like where is the next meal coming from, if they’re going to have a home to go to, to sleep. This gives them an opportunity to be children and have fun,” said Friedensohn.
The director from Camp Impact told WFAA many of these children are from the Arlington and Grand Prairie areas, and they come from broken homes.
“Free food. A lot of them would come to camp the next day not having dinner,” said Kaplan.
In the first week of June, about 80 kids got a chance to go to do activities they’ve never done before.
“We did arts and crafts, sports, a lot of them have never been in a pool before,” said Kaplan.
In the end, it’s about making a difference in their lives.
“It’s a great feeling to see them so happy just to be kids,” said Kaplan.
Camp Impact told WFAA, when camp is over, they aren’t stopping. The money the camp is raising now will buy everything from groceries to clothes for families in need. If you would like to be a part of Camp Impact visit https://www.campimpact.org/.