Some kids from military families will get a free week at Camp Wartburg near Waterloo this summer thanks to the efforts of Illinois Operation Military Kids.
Somewhere around 100 kids will get the free week at the camp July 13-18, said Dawn Waller, youth development educator for the University of Illinois Extension Madison-St. Clair Unit.
"Thanks to special funding from the Sierra Club Foundation and support from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, among a lot of others, we can provide this great experience," Waller said.
Registration began Monday and can only be done online at www.operationpurple.org.
The free camp is part of Operation Purple Summer Camp and is open to children of service members of any branch of service, active duty, National Guard or Reserve, as well as children of members of the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
This year the National Military Family Association, a nonprofit organization that represents families of all ranks and services, will be holding camp in 64 locations in 36 states and territories. That is an expansion from last year when the organization could only provide spaces for fewer than half the kids who applied.
This is the first time Camp Wartburg has participated, Waller said.
"We were looking for a location that employed a camp staff and that had a variety of activities like caving and canoeing," she said.
The camp also has lots of other recreational activities including an excellent high-ropes course.
Waller said there will be a meeting at the state level Wednesday to talk about activities and scheduling for the camp attendees.
She stressed that acceptance at Camp Wartburg is not guaranteed. The association will give priority to children with a parent deployed overseas and has some other guidelines that are detailed on the Web site.
"We hope there will be lots of local kids but there also will be kids from throughout the state as well as surrounding states," she said.
Camps also are scheduled in surrounding states including one in western Missouri, another in West Lafayette, Ind., one in Des Moines, Iowa and two in Kentucky.
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