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The members of the Kiwanis Club of West Sacramento are saluted for their many years of devotion to conducting their CHILDREN CAMPING PROGRAM. You will thoroughly enjoy taking a few minutes to read about this outstanding report of the program.

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results confirmed that many of the children in elementary schools were living in broken homes with incomes below the poverty level.

Annual survevs conducted since then have confirmed that these conditions still exist. These children have little prospect of ever being able to enjoy a full week of camping in the beautiful Sierra Mountains at no cost to their parents or guardians. Our members are dedicated to giving them that opportunity. With the assistance of local school teachers, church officials and the Yolo County Child Protection Service we have been able to identify those youngsters each year who could most benefit from our program. This year marked the 22st consecutive summer that our club has sponsored this program. During that time, over 1,200 boys and girls from age 9 to age 11 have participated in our Kiwanis Kids Camp. No child is denied the opportunity to attend because of race, religion or ethnic background. (Language is not even a barrier.)

The PLAN for this project is the responsibility of a special Camping Committee appointed by our Club President. This committee

plans every aspect of the project: recruitment, parent/guardian

program supervision during camp, prepare and serve three meals per day, supply extra clothing and shoes for children not properly

clothed for the climate. In 1987, we received a $1500.00 grant from the KIWANIS CAL-NEV-HA FOUNDATION which allowed us to purchase sleeping bags for the childrens' use. Parents or guardians are only asked to furnish personal clothing and toilet articles for their children. This year, several of our teenage counselors were members of the KENNEDY HIGH SCHOOL and RIVER CITY HIGH SCHOOL KEY CLUBS, which we sponsor, making this a truly Kiwanis Family project. These wonderful young people lived with their group of 4 or 5 children for the entire week, providing them with leadership and guidance plus being a role model.

which consisted of day hikes, swimming in a mountain stream, arts and crafts, bean bag toss, rain gutter regatta, first aid, trout fishing, knot tying, outdoor cooking, fire starting without matches, living quarters inspections, after meal wash ups, and camp clean-up. Nightly campfire ceremonies awarded those who excelled that day in the various competitive events. Each group presented their own campfire skit and everyone participated in wholesome group singing. Each child was given a first aid kit, a Camp Kiwanis "T" shirt, toothbrush, toothpaste and another "T" shirt which they had designed by tie-dyeing in their arts and crafts activity. The closing song at each campfire is "NO MAN IS AN ISLAND." Adults and children form a hand-held circle to sing in the quiet of the surrounding forest. Since our community is small, we get a chance to see these children again throughout the year. These chance meetings are usually accompanied by a grateful hug from the child.

continuing children's program. This year, the California Department of Fish and Game graciously cooperated by planting over 400 catchable rainbow trout in the Bear River which runs through the camp.

Our members rigged up some bamboo poles for the children and showed them how to catch the trout. Each morning the forest resounded with shouts of excitement and glee as many children yelled their delight when landing their first rainbow trout. We fried some fish for a few children, released a few, but most were frozen and taken home as proof of their accomplishment.

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