Ohio National Guard News

Golden Corral sponsors camp for children
of military service members

Story and photos by Sgt. Daniel Eddy, ONG

 

Senior Ohio National Guard leaders visited the military children-only Camp Corral

A UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter touches down July 10, 2013, at Camp Corral in northeastern Jackson County, Ohio. Senior Ohio National Guard leaders visited the military children-only camp, sponsored by the Golden Corral Corp., which places special emphasis on children of parents who have been killed in action, wounded or disabled.

Col. Julie Blike walks through the “Tunnel of Love”
Col. Julie Blike walks through the “Tunnel of Love” as she arrives at Camp Corral to spend the day with military children. Chief Master Sgt. Tamara Philips, command chief master sergeant of the Ohio Air National Guard, prepares to shoot at targets with a 9mm pistol.
Gage Chapman (left), 10, and Hunter Reusser, 11, check out the pintle mount on a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter. Maj. Gen. Deborah Ashenhurst says goodbye to Arrianha Wilson, 9,
Gage Chapman (left), 10, and Hunter Reusser, 11, check out the pintle mount on a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter. Maj. Gen. Deborah Ashenhurst says goodbye to Arrianha Wilson, 9, as she prepares to leave Camp Corral.

Sgt. 1st Class Brian Motsinger and Isiah Wilson, 9, canoe in a pond

Sgt. 1st Class Brian Motsinger and Isiah Wilson, 9, canoe in a pond.

JACKSON, Ohio (7/10/13) — This year's Camp Corral offered the normal activities of a summer camp – hiking, canoeing, sporting events, swimming and dancing – along with an added bonus of a special visit from service members arriving on a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.

Camp Corral is a free, weeklong summer camp for children, ages 8-15, of Families with fallen, wounded or disabled veterans or service members. The camp is sponsored by the Golden Corral Corp. and its restaurants.

The Ohio National Guard plays a supportive role in running the camp, by not only providing nurses and Military Family Life Consultants, but helps add a “military flavor,” said Col. Julie Blike, director of Family Readiness and Warrior Support for the Ohio National Guard.

Maj. Gen. Deborah Ashenhurst, Ohio adjutant general, and other senior-ranking service members flew into Canter Cave's in northeastern Jackson County, the location for this year's camp, to interact and answer questions the campers had about the military.

The children had the chance to see inside a military armored vehicle and the Black Hawk as part of their experience.

Anita Harris, executive director at Canter's Cave, said Golden Corral sponsors the camp to show support to the Families of military members.

“(Golden Corral) wanted to give back to military Families,” Harris said.

She said Golden Corral budgets its money so campers are able to get free drinks and snacks at the camp store. They also provide the Families with a $50 gas card and a $25 gift card to Golden Corral to help cover the expense of getting their children to the camp.

Golden Corral first paired with 4-H, a youth development organization, in North Carolina in 2011 to launch the first Camp Corral.

Harris said having a place where children can come and share the same issues can be very beneficial.

“(The campers) don't go to school with military children, so their classmates don't understand that dad has been deployed seven times and they have moved four different times and been in so many school systems,” Harris said.

Michelle Stumbo, Camp Corral co-director, said the camp can be a place where the children can know they are not alone in what they are going through.

“This is a time where they can be kids and we know a lot of those kids take on responsibilities at home,” she said. “This is a time where they can be kids and have fun and they can have a little rest from that.”