The Camp
History
Camp Agape began in 2006 with 28 children at Covenant Hills Christian Camp in Cabot, VT. Since then, we have provided over 500 weeks of camping experience for Vermont children. More than 130 people have volunteered their time and services to support the camp. In 2015, when the camping program at Covenant Hills Camp was suspended, we moved Camp Agape to the equally beautiful Bethany Birches Camp in Plymouth, VT.
Purpose
We are committed to providing, completely free of charge, a week of camping for children who have had a parent/caregiver in prison or under the supervision of the Vermont correctional system.
Ideology
Our guiding principle is to offer the children agape, a Greek word which means the kind of love God has for us; love given freely, generously, unconditionally. It is love with no-strings-attached. We also offer campers an opportunity to share their experiences and feelings about having a parent/caregiver in prison.
Camp Agape offers an alternative to the trauma, grief, and loss children experience when a parent/caregiver is incarcerated. We seek to break the cycle of ‘generational incarceration’ which traps so many children of prisoners.
One counselor put it this way: “In that week at camp, I really felt like I was experiencing the Kingdom of God!”