FUGE student campers spent four days volunteering at Baring Housing Crisis Nursery and Youth Emergency Service (YES) this summer, spending time with youth in YSI’s care and drawing inspiration to serve similar programs in their hometowns.
The faith-based camp brings youth in 7th-12th grades and college from around the country together to participate in volunteer activities specifically designed for the nonprofit agency and program they will be serving. For four days of the week they engage in activities at the site. FUGE has been coming to Philadelphia since 1999, and indeed logged over 24,000 hours of volunteer work in the city this summer.
At Baring House, campers interacted with the children and helped organize donated clothing and supplies. At YES, campers played games with the teenagers and provided tutoring.
“Beyond our hope of being a blessing, YSI was a blessing to us as well, allowing us to serve those in need in the city and get a bigger picture of how the city is seeking to help,” said Britany Sellers, Philadelphia site director of FUGE Camps. “Our students came back energized and wanting to see if their hometowns had something similar to a crisis nursery or youth shelter where they could continue their volunteer service.”