Camp with the Q's
Local fraternity provides outlet for youngsters on south side
By Andrew Dys The Herald
In the longing faces, 23-year-old Marchavis Caldwell saw himself.
He saw kids on Rock Hill's south side without a summer camp close by, or maybe without the cash to go to camp.
So Caldwell and the Q's started their own camp.
Caldwell and several of his brothers from Winthrop University's Omega Psi Phi fraternity -- nicknamed the Qs because the Omega looks like a Q -- decided to man the camp. Rock Hill's Parks Recreation and Tourism department helped with use of the Emmett Scott recreation center and camp supplies.
Suddenly, the neighborhood went from having some kids looking for something to do to a bevy of successful young adults giving talks on life and having a blast with the youngsters from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. five days a week.
For free.
"This neighborhood is just like the one I grew up in," said Caldwell, a Spartanburg native. "I know what these kids are looking for. They are looking for someone to tell them they matter. I felt I had to do something."
The kids range from pip-squeaks to teenagers. Sports are a small part of the camp; dance, crafts and teaching academic and social achievement are considered most important, said Loretta Robinson, director of the Emmett Scott Center who works with Rock Hill's parks department and partnered with Caldwell to make the camp work.
Tre'Keisha McMullen, 13, said she learned responsibility and manners and maturity this summer at Caldwell's camp.
"We had fun, too," she said. "A blast."
The Omegas, some volunteers from sorority Delta Sigma Theta and a few others from Winthrop can relate to the kids because they have had similar life experiences, Robinson said. The historic black fraternity dates back to 1911 and has a long history of social service, said Winston Searles, the longtime Rock Hill City Council member who is an Omega himself.
The camp, which had its last day Thursday, is a great way to serve children with young, mature camp directors who can relate to the children and provide positive direction, Searles said. In guys such as Caldwell, Searles see himself decades ago when he was young and active with the Boy Scouts and other activities aimed at helping kids.
"All our children need is for someone to show them they care," Searles said.
To show they care, young men such as Winthrop basketball star James Shuler and marketing student Jonathan Scott and graduate student Cedrick Thomas stopped their lives for four hours a day for weeks. They reached into the hearts and minds of kids in the hot gymnasium and cool computer labs at Emmett Scott. Almost all of the volunteers changed work or school schedules to make time for the campers.
Sam McClurkin, 9, gave Caldwell and his volunteers praise.
"I think it's great," he said.
A few businesses and groups kicked in some money to help Caldwell get through six weeks but Caldwell spent more out of his own pocket than came in to cover expenses.
So what, he said.
"You don't do this for money," Caldwell said. "You do it even if you don't have any money. You do it because it matters."
He points at the kids.
"To them, and to me."
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