Camp Freedom teaches youth about the origins of freedom

What started out as a family activity in 2020 organized by Debbie Taylor and Pamela Smith for their grandchildren to learn about the founding of America has now turned into a camp in Mountain Green called Camp Freedom.

“Since we both have a deep and abiding love of liberty, we wanted to instill that in the hearts of our grandkids,” commented Smith. She said word got around and others wanted to participate with them getting bigger and bigger every year with 175 kids joining in the five-day event this year that was held July 8-12.

Each day brought a special guest from American History to teach youth, ages five to 12, along with youth leaders ages 13-18, about important events that helped bring freedom to America.

On the first day, they were visited by Henry Knox, Lydia Darragh, William Bradford and George Washington; with each of them talking about the role they played in American history during the Revolutionary War.

During craft time the kids learned about John McCrae, who wrote the now famed poem, “In Flanders Field,” after witnessing the tragedy of war. The campers were also encouraged to look for members of the armed forces and thank them for the freedom their service provides.

Day two brought James Armistead Lafayette, Betsy Ross and John Hancock. They also learned about Fort McHenry, where the British launched an attack for 25 hours in an attempt to get to Baltimore. They learned that it was this battle where Francis Scott Key penned "The Star Spangled Banner." After learning about the inspiration behind our National Anthem, they got to shoot off some bottle rockets to represent the rocket red glare.

Day three brought a visit from Abigail Adams and Catherine Littlefield Greene. In addition, a visitor came to tell the group about Ellis Island and the process the immigrants went through in order to be allowed into America.

After learning from these great historical examples, the campers enjoyed a fun water fight that cooled them off!

George Washington made another visit on day four bringing along his granddaughter Nelly. James Madison and Benjamin Franklin also made a visit to Camp Freedom

During their activity rotation, the campers were able to review the things they had learned throughout the week. If they answered a question correctly, they had the chance to throw a ball and dunk one of their youth leaders!

The final day was their Freedom Celebration. This was a celebration for the whole family of the campers. Participants performed a few songs they had learned throughout the week. Awards were presented to those who memorized important passages throughout the week such as “The Pledge of Allegiance,” The Articles of the US Constitution, The Bill of Rights and the Preamble to the Constitution.

After the program, there were activities for the whole family to enjoy including the dunk tank and other water activities to cool off on a hot summer day.

“I was amazed and in awe of all that goes into this camp and what my daughter gets out of it,” said one parent, Joseanne Ware. After attending last year, her five-year-old daughter, Adaline, was counting down the days until the camp started. “She surprised me a couple of times with the piece of history she is able to recount to me and when I ask her where she learned that she’ll often tell me it was at Camp Freedom.” She added, “I’m so grateful for Camp Freedom because she’s being taught in ways that I can’t teach her on my own.

“I loved getting to walk through the ice water with George Washington,” said Adaline. She added that the dunk tank on Friday was actually her favorite.

To learn more about Camp Freedom visit their website https://www.campfreedomutah.com/ λ