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For the past 12 years, the Kiwanis Club of Corrales has provided disadvantaged youth the chance to attend Kamp Kiwanis, a summer camp in Vanderwagen near Gallup.
Every year, the camp provides 25 to 32 children from Corrales with a free five-day adventure during the first week or two in June after school is out. Funded by community events like the Harvest Festival and the Corrales Ditch Run, the camp offers skills and experiences that last a lifetime.
“We are happy to see these kids grow and come back,†said Glenn Hinchcliffe, president of the Kiwanis Club of Corrales. “Evidently, some of them are getting exactly what you would hope and grow from it.â€
According to Hinchcliffe, the camp was created after a member of the Kiwanis Club of Corrales noticed that some local children did not have the opportunity to attend camp due to financial or personal reasons.
The Southwest District of Kiwanis International, which encompasses New Mexico, parts of El Paso, and most of Arizona, owns the camp in Vanderwagen. The camp spans 160 acres and offers a variety of facilities, including dorms, a basketball and volleyball court, an outdoor amphitheater, a playground, nature trails and a chapel.
This year, the camp featured the Cibola Search and Rescue team, who taught the kids essential survival skills and emergency preparedness. Combined with the challenge course, where they learned to walk a tightrope and wall climb and engaging science lessons from a former chemistry teacher, the children gained valuable skills and experiences that extend beyond just a week of fun.
“They built survival huts to see if they could put enough twigs and moss together to spend the night,†Hinchcliffe said. “Sometimes the adults have more fun than the kids.â€
In a letter to the Comment, Susan Hinchcliffe, the secretary of the Kiwanis Club of Corrales, said over the 12 years the camp has been operating, about 250 children have attended, which costs around $83,000.
The funds for the camp are generated through the Corrales Harvest Festival and the Corrales Ditch Run, which is held in partnership with Dave Gives Back, both organized by the Kiwanis Club of Corrales.
Children chosen to participate in the camp are selected by school counselors, with candidates generally ranging from elementary to middle school age. The Kiwanis Club of Corrales provides the counselors with the selection criteria. Once the children are selected, the paperwork is sent to their parents. The selection process typically runs from early January until mid-May.
According to Glenn Hinchcliffe, the essence of the camp is to help children
“Not just rely on themselves but to know that there are other people who have their back.â€
How to help
To donate, visit the Kiwanis Club of Corrales.Â
Enter the 2024 Ditch Run on Sept. 22 at  corralesditchrun.com
Support the Harvest Festival Sept. 28-29, for more information, visit corralesharvestfestival.com.