In 2014, Kayla Williams got to attend a week of summer camp at Camp Hanover. It also was her first time visiting Camp. She was a third grader at G. H. Reid Elementary School in Richmond.
“That was not the best time for me and my family,” she recalled with Executive Director Doug Walters. “We didn’t have a steady place to live at the time and didn’t always know where the next meal was going to come from.”
A week at Camp Hanover was a small respite from the uncertainty at home.
“That opportunity stands out to me. It changed me.”
At Camp Hanover, Kayla tried many new experiences, including canoeing.
“I don’t think I had ever been to a lake at all,” she shared. “So my first time canoeing I was really scared.”
She remembers struggling to manage the paddle. A patient lifeguard made her feel safe and encouraged her to continue trying.
Kayla used skills she developed over the years during several overnight canoe trips as a Middler camper.
Kayla continued coming to camp each summer until 2019. She relished the time spent in nature, away from technology, building connections with other campers. She especially enjoyed singing before and after mealtimes.
Those visits to Camp Hanover were funded by camperships from River Road Presbyterian Church in Henrico County, Virginia. The church sponsored a week at Camp Hanover for a number of students at Kayla’s school.
Being able to attend camp, despite her family’s ability to pay, was “such a blessing.”
Kayla made many great friends at Camp Hanover. Each summer, they would coordinate the week they attended so they could spend it together.
In 2023, Kayla graduated from Huguenot High School. Immediately after the ceremony at Richmond’s Altria Theater, gunshots filled the air. Two people died and several others were injured.
The experience made Kayla feel lost and “off track” for a time. Then she turned to her faith for strength: “I realized I needed to grow my connection with God.”
She remembered her early years attending Camp Hanover. The faith formation she received here and the comfort she felt in this environment motivated her to apply for a job for the summer of 2024.
One of her primary duties was capturing photos of campers. This meant she interacted with lots of groups over the course of seven weeks. But she didn’t just stay behind the camera. She jumped in to help whenever she was needed, such as braiding hair and cooking hot dogs over a fire. She enjoyed her time as a counselor as much as she had being a camper, especially the bonds she built with kids and other staff.
Before coming to Camp Hanover, Kayla didn’t realize how much she would enjoy singing and leading songs.
At the end of the season, Kayla’s peers named her “Staff Member of the Summer.” The award is given to the person who goes above and beyond the call of duty and embodies the mission and spirit of summer camp.
“Camp is for everyone. I want other people to experience it. Coming here can start a story for someone that lasts a lifetime,” she concluded.