As part of its 90th anniversary, YMCA Camp Abe Lincoln held a family fun day and celebrated the opening of a new asset to their program.
The camp held an event Sunday, June 1, 2014 welcoming families to see all that YMCA Camp Abe Lincoln has to offer. But first, they held a ribbon-cutting for their new library called Jaycees Library.
The summer camp director, Nicolas Martinez said during the camp each year they encourage children to read uninterrupted for thirty minutes. Because of this effort, the Davenport Jaycees chose them as their community impact project and gave them a library room. Organizations, community members, as well as parents and staff began donating books to fill the library.
In anticipation of the new library, Martinez said thousands of books were donated.
Martinez said the reading program helps students with the transition between school years, so they don’t have to catch-up as much in the fall. The library gives children a place of their own to read.
After the ribbon-cutting, families were invited to enjoy outdoor activities offered by Camp Abe Lincoln. These activities included archery, hay rack rides, feeding horses, and more.
“It gives parents an opportunity to see where they’re going to be sending their children,” Martinez said. “It gives them an opportunity to meet the people that are going to be with their children and kind of relieve their anxieties.”
The department director at Community Health Care and a member of the Davenport Jaycees said that the Camp Abe Lincoln library will benefit more than 1,000 kids this summer, and thousands more in the future.