Camp celebrates 15 years of helping area 'PALS' build positive life skills

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — More than 3,000 area youth have learned about positive life skills and physical activity while having fun during an annual summer camp, thanks to the free Purdue Athletes Life Success program. This summer is the camp’s 15th anniversary.

This year, 400 area youth, ages 8-14, are attending the camp that started June 16. It runs through July 15. Campers qualify for the free program based on income guidelines.

"Since the program started in 2002, the campers have heard from astronauts, NFL players and national motivational speakers," said William Harper, professor of health and kinesiology and co-program director. "We've found, through research and hearing from our campers year-to-year, that what really matters most to them is the relationships they forge with the camp counselors who are positive role models and mentors."

The team from the Department of Health and Kinesiology that tracks how camp participation affects these children also has found that campers see a boost in self-esteem and more interest in physical activity.

Each age group is led by team leaders who are current or recent college students, some of whom are Purdue NCAA athletes or are involved in club sports. PALS campers also will spend a day working out with members of the Purdue football team.

Twelve of this year's team leaders are former campers themselves, and 12 recent campers were selected to serve as junior team leaders.

The campers spend time at various stations - strategically spaced so campers walk more than an hour a day - to learn about various sports, such as soccer, judo, flag football, basketball, swimming, and outdoor active team-building games. Other stations include art, dance and computers. Purdue Federal Credit Union also offers a financial literacy program, and pet therapy dogs also visit the camp thanks to the Lafayette chapter of Therapy Dog International.

PALS has added new activity stations this summer to highlight different careers. These include engineering and problem solving, videography and photography, and computer programming, as well as a STEM-focused station that also is supported by the Black Cultural Center. 

The College of Health and Human Sciences and previously the College of Liberal Arts have been longtime supporters of PALS. The program also is supported by many community and campus organizations, including the Division of Recreational Sports, which provides the fields, pool and other areas for activity stations, and Housing and Food Services, where the campers eat breakfast and lunch every day. Doctors and nurse practitioners from Purdue University Student Health Center, Unity Healthcare and IU Arnett provided free medical exams to all campers in the spring. The exams include general physical health, vision, orthopedics and blood pressure.

Program funding comes partially from Purdue Federal Credit Union and the Brees Dream Foundation. Drew Brees is the former All-America quarterback for Purdue and 2010 Super Bowl champion with the New Orleans Saints. PALS also receives financial support from the Purdue Boilermaker Half-Marathon and 5K. This year's race on Oct. 22 will support PALS again, and more information is available at http://purduehalf.com/

PALS also partners with the three local school corporations - Lafayette, Tippecanoe County and West Lafayette - as well as Ivy Tech Community College, the Tippecanoe Prosecutor's Office, Juvenile Magistrate Court, Area IV Agency, Indiana Department of Education, Project Safe Neighborhood and Wabash Valley Alliance.  

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Bill Harper, wharper@purdue.edu