Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-15
GET OUTINGS
At SUMMER CAMPS
Mothers and Children Much
improved as Guests of Good
viii and Pleasant.

When the ITS children and mothers
who are at Camp Good VIII for their
two-week vacation as guests of the
Summer outings Committee of the
Associated Charities and the Com
munity Chest return next week this
camp will have entertained more than
700 free guests during the present sea-
son. Considerably more than 500 chill
dren and mothers during the same
period have been given outings at Camp
Pleasant or a total of more than 300
outings for the Summer season in these
two camps.
Miss Helen Story, supervisor for the
Associated Charities In the eastern sec
ton of the city, from which the present
group at Camp Good Will was recruited,
and her assistant, Miss Beatrice Mer-
rift, have come into close personal con-
tact with the families concerned.
What the two weeks vacation at
camp means to the families in our
care" said Miss Story, "can best be
understood by citing few of the many
actual situations. In one of the fam
lies now at Camp Good Will four
pairs of twins have been born and all
are under II years of age. Two pairs
OF these twins are at camp. the two
fancy and kept at home.
Mother Dead Year.
1.-THE mother of these children died
year ago, since which time they have
been cared for by the oldest daughter,
herself recently married, with the aid
OF an older brother, himself also at
camp. Their stay in camp means much
to the little mother and her charges.
Recently our attention was called to
a mother and three children under IL,
the father of whom had deserted This
little family was faced with innme-
date eviction for long-overdue rent.
party for Camp Good VIII was forming
and this mother and her children were
included for the two weeks of rest and
| freedom from worry. During this in
| terval our visitors were making plans
to get new home started for them.
| When the mother returned to the city
she found that she had gained nine
pounds and each of the children also
had made great improvement in health
"A rather overgrown boy of IL had
been living with his sick mother and
was shy and timid about mixing with
| other boys away from his home When
this boy first arrived at Camp Pleasant
| he became violently homesick. But
| with kindly handling and given an on
portunity to help in some camp work,
ne soon became interested and before
the end of his outing he was so en-
amored of the camp life that he Joined
with three other boys about his age
In writing a letter to Miss Merritt, the
visitor who had arranged for the camp
trip, as follows:
Dear Miss Merritt: We are writing
to you to ask you IL we could be workers
at the camp the following Summer or
rot rn@r~S ~
great helpers to the camp and we are
hoping to come down here a little
longer. There is four of us, John,
George, Francis and David. We will
all be very glad If we could do so.
Please answer soon. Yours very truly,
-FOUR Boys"
Relief for Mother.
"In still another instance that comes
to mind" continued Miss Story, there
was little mother confronted with a
serious hospital operation, but with
three little daughters needing her con-
slant care. The daughters were taken
to camp for period, during which the
mother went to the hospital for her
operation and was able to be on hand
When the girls returned, brown and
plump, from their happy vacation In
thu woods and fields.
"A father, mother and three chill
dren were faced with eviction when
the man had been long out Of work.
The mother and children went to camp
for two weeks and during that period,
free from expense and worry. the
father managed to get new Job In
his line of work. so that he had q
home waiting for them when they came
back to the city.
II could tell scores OF similar In
stances Of the great material service Of
the camp experience in the lives Of
our people. but literally in hundreds
Of homes the quality Of living has been
| definitely improved by this short con.
tact with the well ordered life in camp.
| We find many mothers and children
making the effort to have their home
| meals served more neatly and their
rooms kept in better order, often with
touch of color or decoration learned
from the instruction given them while
at camp"