Day Camp - Nashville Inner City Ministry - Nashville Inner City Ministry

Too much time, not enough money, no supervision, and a lack of training all contribute to the growing gang problem among inner city youth. Nashville Inner City Ministry has developed a summer program addressing all of these areas. At-risk youth who have participated in our winter program and have demonstrated a level of trust are chosen to participate in our summer Junior Intern program as leaders in our Day Camp program. Even thought the Junior Interns are not employed by NICM, they are given a stipend of $10.00 for each day they participate. In addition to the stipend, an additional gift of $10 per day is “banked” for each intern. These funds can be drawn out at the end of summer to help with back to school expenses. These shopping excursions are supervised by our team of counselors who help the youth understand wise shipping opportunities, but the final choices are left up to each person and they live with their decisions.

During Day Camp, each day from 11am to noon, all Junior Interns are involved in classroom training that deal with a variety of life skills. These subjects range from “How To Dress For Success” to “The Snares of Impulse Buying”. After training, lunch is served and then it is off to the streets. The weekly routine alternates between registering children for Day Camp and then holding the Day Camp for those registered campers. During the registration weeks, they devote their days to visiting homes in Nashville’s major public housing projects and registering children for day camp. During these visits, the youth are trained to be observant in helping identify noticeable needs, which are then reported to their counselor and follow up by an adult is initiated. During the week of Day Camp the Junior Interns board busses after their training and go back into the neighborhoods to pick up the children who were registered the previous week. The afternoon starts with a good lunch served by the team. After lunch, a variety of life skill training classes are taught by the interns under the supervision of an adult counselor. After training classes, a fun activity is provided. At the end of the day, both the Junior Interns and the Day Campers have enjoyed a day of learning, fun and food. Each part of the day is supervised by NICM’s team of counselors who are devoted to loving and caring for our inner city children. To see scenes from Day Camp, visit our GALLERY.