Photo Provided Oceanna Seebaugh, Savannah Stephens, Colton Parsons, Brent Bosley, Heather Powell, Alena Koon, Cyleigh Sampson, Hanna Starcher and Landon Francisco do a tree planting at the 4-H Camp along Butcher Bend Road near Mineral Wells.

MINERAL WELLS — The Wood County 4-H Camp has been teaching area youth about leadership and helping others.

The camp, along Butcher Bend Road near Mineral Wells, has been going on for a couple of weeks hosting 200 kids from Wood and Washington counties.

“In a world consumed by texting and social networking, children are spending less time outdoors and are missing out on opportunities to talk face-to-face with friends,” said Camp Director Jodi Smith. “Summer camp is an opportunity for children to connect with other children and make new friends face-to-face. Children learn valuable social skills and make lifelong friends at camp. They learn about diversity and inclusion, as well as independence and generosity.”

While at camp, kids were able to improve their communication and leadership skills through group activities and recreation, team building and camp classes.

Wood County has three 4-H Camps: Young Adventurers’ Weekend Camp for ages 5-10, Younger 4-H Camp for ages 9-12 and Older 4-H Camp for ages 13-21.

Photo Provided Roman Bradley, Zane Davis and Ryley Louden recently attended the 4-H Camp along Butcher Bend Road near Mineral Wells.

“Camp is one of the best educational experiences a child can have,” Smith said. “Camping offers children a chance to build self-confidence, explore new activities, and form lasting memories while interacting with positive adult role models. More importantly, it allows children to have fun in a safe, supervised setting.”

A typical day at camp starts with flag raising, songs, tribal duties, tribal meetings, camp assemblies with guest speakers and presenters, recreation, camp classes, reflections and the night ends with a campfire at the Council Circle, organizers said.

On the last night of camp they celebrate with a dance/party and campers end the week with a slide show and a time to claim honors — where campers speak about their favorite parts of camp and thank and recognize other campers or counselors, organizers added.

“I want campers to make new friends, learn independence and generosity at camp, and most importantly, feel like they are a part of something wonderful where they are welcomed and respected by everyone,” Smith said. “Camp is a place for kids to be kids; it is a place for kids to learn new skills, meet people they wouldn’t meet otherwise, and to learn about and connect with nature.

“It is a place to disconnect, and we strive to limit connections to cell phones and electronics so kids can experience face-to-face social connections and learn without distractions of technology.”

Photo Provided Campers Audrey Sundstrom, Erin Carmicle, Ali Evans, Cate Evans and Lily Sundstrom recently attended the 4-H Camp along Butcher Bend Road near Mineral Wells.

Council Circle and the camp dance are among the favorite activities of camp.

Shayleigh Gard, 9, a first-year camper this summer, enjoyed making friends.

“I like meeting new friends and getting back together with friends I haven’t seen in a long time, and Council Circle,” she said.

First-year camper Samantha Thompson also liked being there with friends.

“I like getting to spend time with my friends, the talent show, and watching a movie,” she said.

Photo Provided The Council Circle held during the 4-H Camp along Butcher Bend Road near Mineral Wells.

Ryley Louden, 12, had fun during a number of activities.

“I like the fun events like the dance and watching people at the talent show,” he said.

Roman Bradley,12, liked meeting new people. “I like making new friends,” he said.

Teen Leader Camp counselors finished their own camp last week and returned to Younger 4-H Camp this week to help the younger campers. Teen Leaders learn leadership as counselors at the Younger Camps.

Kathryn Hubbard, 17, was chief of the Cherokee tribe at Older 4-H Camp and this week was her first experience as a counselor at Younger Camp.

Photo Provided Shayleigh Gard, Shyanne Dearth and Samantha Thompson recently attended the 4-H Camp along Butcher Bend Road near Mineral Wells.

“I like seeing kids learn what it’s like to go to camp and seeing how much Younger Camp has changed over the years,” she said.

Jamie Lambert, 17 years old, is a third year Teen Leader Camp counselor.

“I like seeing how much people change from younger to older camp,” she said. “It’s a good experience to learn about the behind the scenes part of camp.”

Some programs are geared for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) learning. They have educational assemblies on the dangers of tobacco, alcohol, other drugs, healthy living and mindfulness.

Campers also learn about generosity at 4-H camp by participating in a camp service project. This year campers raised money during camp to purchase trees to plant on the campgrounds. The trees they are choosing are native to West Virginia.

Photo Provided Teen Leader counselors Jamie Lambert, Kathryn Hubbard and Emma Daley at the 4-H Camp held recently along Butcher Bend Road near Mineral Wells.

Campers have raised more than $1,000 over the two weeks of 4-H camp this summer.

“Perhaps the most important part of camp is the sense of belonging that campers feel,” Smith said. “Meeting new friends, being part of a tribe or a group, all contribute to that feeling of belonging to something wonderful. Many camp friends become lifelong friends.”