From taking trips to the movies to heading off to church camp—when summertime comes around at the Alabama Free Will Baptist Children’s Home, we enjoy plenty of outdoor and indoor activities, both on and off our campus. Keep reading to learn more about summer at the Children’s Home!
On-Campus Activities
Swimming and Outdoor Sports
Like all families during the summer—especially here in Alabama—we love spending our time outdoors in the water. Here on campus, our residents can cool off (and get some excellent exercise!) in our above-ground swimming pool or in one of the ponds where we also go fishing!
We also play in the fields on campus for sports like softball and kickball in the large fields, and we run and explore nature on the trails.
Off-Campus Summer Adventures
Church Camp
As a loving, Christian children’s home, we adore giving our young residents opportunities during the summer for fun, friendship, and spiritual enrichment by helping them go to church camp.
At church camp, our young believers can spend time growing their relationship with the Lord and their fellow Christian peers—all while enjoying the many fun outdoor camping activities and traditions of a regular summer camp! Some of our kids love church camp so much that they would stay there all summer if they could; a few get close, going 2–3 times in a row.
Family Vacations
Caring house parents stay on campus with our residents at the Children’s Home, raising them with the mission to help them experience healthy, normal-as-possible childhoods in stable, happy families.
Each house takes a family vacation during the summer, usually to the beach or the mountains. For our new children, this is usually their first time on vacation (or even out of their county).
Day Trips
The fun doesn’t stop at church camps and vacations! We also take day trips to the water park, laser tag rink, trampoline jump parks, and bowling alleys. On most Mondays—when the local drive-in movie theater offers their charge-by-the-vehicle deal—we hop in our vans and take the kids to watch a family-friendly flick.
Summer School and Home Visits
Some of our residents have to attend summer school. Many of them come to us behind in school, and our schools use this time to help them catch up. Thankfully, they still have plenty of opportunities for summer fun after school on weekdays and the weekends with their house siblings and peers on the Children’s Home campus!
Aside from group activities or going to school, some of our children can leave campus during summer break for home visits with their families. However, not all of our children have families they can visit, which is why we give them plenty of exciting opportunities to go out with our House Families.
Support the Children’s Home this Summer
Time flies during our busy, fun-filled summers at the Children’s Home; it seems like school shopping time comes back in the blink of an eye! Whether we’re having fun on summer break or if school is in full swing, our Children’s Home needs your support.
If you’d like to give to the Children’s Home, please consider donating, and read more about our ministry and life here at the Children’s Home on our blog and from our newsletter.