Dougherty sheriff's summer camp celebrates 30th year

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*Students participate in indoor activities Wednesday at the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office’s Youth Summer Camp. The camp is being held at the Robert Cross Middle School campus.* *Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin*

ALBANY – The Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office welcomed nearly 400 youngsters, double the usual number, for its annual Youth Summer Camp program this year that is celebrating its 30th year of offering learning, sports and other activities.

The boost in numbers came after Albany State University cancelled the National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) this year due to the loss of funding, eliminating for this year at least the long-running program that traditionally had served 500 or more youngsters with summer activities..

While in a typical year the sheriff’s program might have had 150 participants, this year it had 800 applicants, and the biggest attendance for a single day topped 360.

The Dougherty County Commission increased its funding for the sheriff’s program to $75,000 for 2026 in order to increase the number of participants. The no-cost camp was open to youngsters ages 5 through 14 and provided breakfast, lunch and a snack each day.

“What was important to the county is we knew there was going to be a decrease in services,” Commissioner Clinton Johnson said. “We weren’t trying to take over anybody’s program, we just wanted to reach at-risk kids. My hope was the sheriff was already doing it, so we expanded it.

“There was no need to start something new when you’ve got somebody who’s already doing it. We provided a safe place for the kids and kept them off the streets.”

The Youth Summer Camp is a legacy of former Sheriff Kevin Sproul, who started the program three decades ago. This year’s month-long program is wrapping up, with an awards and field day held on Thursday of this week ahead of the final day of activities on Tuesday and a trip to Rigby’s Water World in Warner Robins on Wednesday.

While students participated in sports, the summer program, held at Robert Cross Middle School, also emphasized keeping them academically engaged to avoid learning loss from their time out of school.

“What it does is, once they’re out of school, it helps them remember what they already learned,” Cassandra Kinsler, founder of the nonprofit group Dedicated Opinionated Purposeful Educated (DOPE) that is in charge of organizing activities, said. “It helps them for next year.”

All of the instructors are education majors at colleges including Albany State University, Edward Waters University, Clark Atlanta University, Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, Tuskegee University and Valdosta State University, she said.

“We have art, music and also PE and leadership; all of these are classes as electives, along with academics,” Kinsler said.

The camp also gives the future teachers hands-on experience before entering the classroom, she said.

The 2026 Youth Summer Camp sponsored by the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office is the 30th year for the program. Students get to take part in educational and physical activities during the month-long camp, which the Dougherty County Commission funded through a $75,000 expenditure. *Staff Photo: Alan Mauldin*

For Leesburg Police Department Cpl. Anthony Bell, a former Albany Police Department officer, the camp was different than it was during his time as a participant but also familiar. Initially, the camp was known as C.H.A.M.P.S. Camp, named after the statewide Choosing Healthy Activities and Methods Promoting Safety curriculum taught to fifth-graders.

“With the NYSP closing, we were able to come in and close the gap,” Kinsler said. “A lot of kids didn’t have a camp to come to that was free”

The Leesburg Police Department provided snacks for the program, and about 157 students from Lee County attended the camp, along with a sprinkling of youngsters from five other counties.

Students are not allowed to use their phones during the camp, sheriff’s Capt. Ronnye Nelson said.

“We get them outside,” he said. “The biggest thing is getting them outside.”

Some of the groups and organizations that provided activities and programming include the Flint RiverQuarium, Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Dougherty County District Attorney’s Victim-Witness Assistance Program, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice and the Leadership Albany Class of 2026.

“It was a team effort to make this camp work,” Nelson said.

As has been the case for each camp since the death of sheriff’s Capt. Ted Thomas in September 2024, this year’s program was dedicated to his memory.

“This is something he really cared about,” Nelson said. “Ted was one of those guys who believed every kid deserves a safe haven every summer.”