There are still a few spots available for Rebuilding Hope Inc.’s Kids Construction Camp, which gives young people an opportunity to learn about tools and how to use them.
The three-day camp takes place Aug. 6-8 at Rebuilding Hope’s facility, 414 Raleigh Rd. from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, said Tom Wille, co-director of Rebuilding Hope. The camp will be capped at 30; Wille said Monday there’s space for 5 or 6 more.
The camp is free and gives youngsters in 3rd-6th grade a chance to visit a variety of stations set up to learn about hammers and nails, electrical and plumbing, as well as block laying, roofing and more.
Wille said it’s a really good thing that the children get to learn some construction skills through hands-on activities, and “they learn a little about Jesus through the Bible Study,” he added.
Parents and guardians can find the application at www.rebuildinghopeinc.org or stop by the office, 414 Raleigh Rd. and pick up a paper copy.
The stations are mock-ups of real-life applications, but don’t worry – it’s all safe. The campers will be learning how to shingle a roof, but the roof is only waist-high, Wille said.
“Everything is safe, but they get the point to see how it’s done…see the tools that are involved,” he said.
The Kids Construction Camp could be a steppingstone to another opportunity for youth that Rebuilding Hope hosts each year: Servants on Site.
This weeklong program wrapped up last week, with 114 young people and even more adult volunteers working together to replace the roof on nine different homes in Vance and Warren counties.
“We were able to take the Gospel to our world – our Jerusalem, which is right here in Vance County and a couple of surrounding counties,” Wille said.
That in and of itself is good news, he said, but the even better news is that a number of youth participants and one of the homeowners professed their love of Christ during the week.
This year’s S.O.S. theme was “Follow Me,” and Wille said the participants got a chance to witness what it’s like to help those in need.
“They’ve made lifelong friends, seen things that they would (otherwise) not see and see how it directly affects the community around them. It’s a pretty awesome thing.”
The kids worked during the hottest week of the year and got a chance to see that hard work pays off – and makes a difference. “You get this opportunity to focus on thing of importance and things that matter,” he said. “It does become clearer…there are more important things than TikTok.”
The evenings were spent at Central Baptist Church, with high-energy Christian Rock music, a worship service, devotional time and small-group discussions about the goings-on of the day.
Several kids made the altar call, he said, a tribute to the power that comes with young people coming together to serve their community in the name of Jesus.
“We can talk about Jesus all we want to, but if we’re not out there relating to them, people are not going to see it,” Wille said.
“If we don’t get out there and show that compassion, that tenderness, the forgiveness, we don’t mirror God.”
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