With school in session, kids have much to keep them busy throughout the winter; but when summer rolls around, the days are long, planned activities are slim, and most kids look forward to a long-awaited vacation with their parents — that is, for kids who have parents at home.
Missouri has well over 20,000 children who know what it’s like to have one or both of their parents in prison.
For the past five summers, Camp David of the Ozarks has been providing free summer camp for children of prisoners, and it wants to expand the much-needed program.
Camp David is hosting a benefit concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Havener Center on the campus of Missouri S&T to raise funds to complete the construction of a multipurpose building at the facility.
The concert features the musical talents of The Voices of Inspiration Gospel Choir, Revelation, The Lonesome Hill Gang and Dixie Union.  Tickets for the concert are not required.
Camp David of the Ozarks, located 10 miles south of Rolla near the Rhea Saddle Club, is hoping to raise enough funds to finish construction on the building and add a commercial-sized kitchen and indoor restroom facilities for its campers, which it hopes to increase from 20 kids a week to 30.
Co-Founder and Assistant Camp Director Grace Smith said the faith-based summer camp offered the children of imprisoned parents the opportunity to overcome the resentment, alienation and anger they often feel because of the absence of a parent who is incarcerated.
“It really does help to make a difference,” Smith explained.  “After having been at camp, they’re able to deal with things a lot better. A lot of the kids are just mad, and they need to work on conflict-resolution.”
Camp David of the Ozarks is an interdenominational, non-profit 501(c)3 organization and a member of the Christian Camp and Conference Association.
To be eligible to attend CDO, children must reside within a two-hour, travel-time radius, a radius which encompasses 12 counties, including the cities of Rolla, Jefferson City and St. Louis, said Smith.
In 2007, the total number of children eligible for the summer camp was 3,000; however, because of the limited size of the facility, only 108 campers of the 300 who were invited managed to attend, Smith explained.
If enough funds are raised to complete the project, Smith said, CDO could grow by 200 percent in camper attendance.
Free scholarships and transportation are provided for campers, and each child receives a personalized photo album of the activities they’ve participated in while they were at camp.
With a one-counselor-to-two-campers’ ratio, the kids get a lot of attention throughout their week at camp — the counselors are referred to as “Grandmas and Grandpas.” CDO offers Junior Camps for children from 8-to-12 and Senior Camps for teens, 13-to-16, and separate camps are provided for boys and girls.
Campers sleep in covered wagon cabins.  Camp activities include a horse program, swimming, archery classes, a discovery garden and nature walks.
The activities are plentiful, but the real benefit to these kids is the realization that people can care for them.
Smith said the new multipurpose room and kitchen are essential expansions and will go far in helping to prepare meals for the 50-to-60 people at the camp daily.
Also, she said, the recruiting season is just beginning, and CDO is looking for volunteers in counseling, support staff, grand-parenting, kitchen help and maintenance. Also, workers are needed to help with building the multipurpose room and making camp improvements.
Already CDO has accepted donations of labor and supplies from a number of local companies, including Bloomsdale Excavating, Murdon Concrete Products and Frank’s Plumbing and Electric.
The camp also will take donations of supplies — from office supplies, landscaping and games to kitchen equipment, building supplies and vehicles.
An estimated two million children across the nation know what it’s like to have one or both of their parents in prison.
According to U.S. News and World Report, children of prisoners are the most severely at-risk children in America today.  They are abused, neglected and six times more likely to end up in prison themselves.
Smith said parents and guardians of children who’ve attended camp have seen the difference one week of camp can make.
“Children have discovered that God loves them,” Smith said. “He has a purpose for their life, and there is hope for tomorrow.”
For more information about Camp David of the Ozarks, call 364-2786, or logon to its Web site at www.campdavidozarks.org.