Liliana Kuttenkuler, 13, a member of Sacred Heart Parish, Shawnee, aims her arrow during an archery session at camp. LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
by Joe Bollig
joe.bollig@theleaven.org
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — This year, parents and grandparents will be able to place the gift of Catholic summer camp under the Christmas tree thanks to a change in registration policy.
Camp Tekakwitha registration will begin after Thanksgiving this coming November.
For the past 20 years or so, registration for summer camp in the archdiocese has happened annually in January. There has been a growing trend nationally, however, for registration to occur earlier, said archdiocesan evangelization secretary Deacon Dana Nearmyer.
“A number of our constituents have wanted to register their kids or grandkids before Christmas as a gift,” said Deacon Nearmyer. “We’d never done that . . . and we wondered what all the hurdles might be to doing that.
“But we’ve been able to work through all those, so this November, right after Thanksgiving, we’ll open up our high school camp. And on concurrent weeks we will have registration for all the camps open before Christmas.”
Parents and grandparents can reserve a camp spot for $100 and make payments over a period of time.
There are three advantages to opening up registration before Christmas. First, it gives the ability to give camp as a Christmas gift and have the certainty that the spot will be available. Second, parents and grandparents have extra payment time. Third, this gives parents scheduling flexibility. Once the camp date is assured, other summer activities can be scheduled.
All camp registration is done online or by email. To register, go to: www.archkck.org/camp on the appropriate date. Scroll down on the camp home page for registration links and information about the various camping options.
