NORWICH, Conn. (WTNH) — On this day, the morning session at camp is wild.
“Owls have 17, I mean, 14 neck bones,” said 11-year-old camper Chase Cooper, as he gazes upon an Eastern Screech Owl.
“A core component of the Summer Jam program is community service where our kids get to give back and they want to give back,” said Debbie Kievits, founder of this camp, an extension of the Norwich Bully Busters.
The visit from the bird is paired with a good deed.
Campers made owl boxes to donate to Freedom First Wildlife.
“Our local mayor came-in and built the owl boxes with them and showed them how to use the tools and saw,” said Kievits, who created Bully Busters 23 years ago, promoting kindness in area schools.
The camp shows kids how to help care for others and themselves.
“Everyday is a new thing,” camper Amias Irvin Tucker said.
Kievits exposes kids to different careers by bringing-in guests like local chefs who also teach kids to cook simple meals they can make for themselves at home.
“She came-in and showed them how to make ramen noodles in a variety of different ways,” Kievits said. “They want to learn how to cook something that doesn’t go in the microwave.”
“I cut up the celery and carrot,” said 12-year-old George Jolley, who enjoys the cooking and also the opportunity to play piano at this camp that’s entirely free, offered to kids on a first come, first serve basis.
“It’s like, ‘Woah, you guys have foosball, board games and basketball,” Irvin Tucker said of the fun that’s offered on a daily basis.
“For me, it’s good because usually in the summer I barely do anything,” Cooper said.
Kievits suffers from rheumatoid arthritis but is buoyed by the kids’ faces, their spirit.
She knows she’s sending them home with important skills…and values.
“We’re in this world where everything needs to start with anger and divisiveness. These kids come in and leave with kindness,” she said. “It’s free and it feels good.”
Kievits has a slogan: Kindness is magical.
The Bully Busters Summer Jam Camp runs through August 18.