More than 15 middle school students learned about good citizenship and American history during the annual Civic Heroes Camp hosted by Troy University’s Office of Civic Engagement from July 13-17.
At Civic Heroes summer camp, fourth through sixth grade campers become superheroes-in-training and build their own communities, run their cities and help their neighbors. Campers also participate in creative games, activities and civic lessons that teach about what it means to be a good citizen.
The campers were visited by a new community hero each day, including a police officer and his K-9 companion, City of Troy firefighters and Common Ground Executive Director Clint free.
“We train them up to be little superheroes in their communities,” said Tori Elmore, program advisor for the Office of Civic Engagement. “We know that it’s summer, so we want to make what we do teach them very fun and engaging. We ultimately want them to understand that they play a huge role in their community, even at a young age.”
In recognition of America’s milestone birthday, camp volunteers threw a 250th birthday party complete with a Constitutional Convention and Founding Father hats. Throughout the week, campers also learned about the history of the United States and the basics of government including the Constitution, governing branches, American symbols and the election process.
“This is such a good and fun way to get kids engaged, but get them learning at the same time,” Elmore said. “They’re able to connect with each other, learn how to love one another and understand what they can do together as a team in the community.”
Ruth, a sixth grader from Ariton, said she learned about integrity during Civic Heroes Camp.
“Integrity means doing the right thing even when no one is watching,” she said. “I learned about being kind and reliable. I really liked making the bracelets and playing basketball with my friends, too.”
Evie, a sixth grader from Troy, said she learned a lot about American history.
“I learned about the first ten amendments—but I’m still working on some of them—the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution,” she said. “We started learning about the Constitution in school, but not that much.”
About Civic Heroes Camp
Civic Heroes puts campers on the fictional “Planet Civic” where participants learn from community leaders, exercise their voice, and help neighbors through games, activities and civic lessons. This approach started seven years ago, with the superhero theme developing during the COVID-19 pandemic when organizers moved to virtual programming.
Running from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Elm Street Gym, the camp provides students with hero packs containing materials, daily snacks and opportunities to meet community representatives.
The camp was made possible thanks to a grant from the David Matthews Center for Civic Life and its Jean O’Connor-Snyder Internship Program (JOIP). Located in Montevallo, Ala., the Center strives to build skills, habits and capacities for more effective civic engagement and innovative decision making and is active in all of Alabama’s 67 counties.
