ABERDEEN, Md. — Hundreds of underserved children are getting the opportunity to enjoy an all-expenses-paid summer camp at Cal Ripken's senior yard in Aberdeen. The camp focuses on teaching baseball and softball skills while incorporating team-building activities.
When buses filled with young children arrive at the facility, they're greeted with high fives and high energy as summer camp begins and it's time to play ball.
Watch as officials with the camp teach students life skills
The week-long program has provided a great opportunity for kids like 10-year-old Isabella from Hartford, Connecticut, to interact with peers from across the country.
"It's very cool and it's very heartwarming because some people feel the same way I do or deeper and I get to help them come out their shell," Isabella said.
What makes this camp unique is the mentorship component. 75 law enforcement officers spend time with campers, serving as mentors throughout the experience.
Montgomery County Community Service Officer Brandon McCloud may be the most energetic mentor of them all.
"The students get the opportunity to see officers in a different light. They get to see us without the uniform, realize we're just like their fathers, their mothers, their uncles, their cousins. We're people just like them experiencing life together," Mcloud said.
The campers appreciate the enthusiasm from their mentors.
"They kind of feel like kids because the energy. It feels so nice," Isabella said.
This camp also gives participants an opportunity to perfect their craft, which is one reason 14-year-old Dominic Polanco from Naples, Florida, enjoys attending.
"I played baseball since I was like 11, you know," Polanco said.
"Not that great of a catcher or a runner but I started to progress more and more."
When 200 kids come to Maryland for this experience, each walks away with their own valuable takeaway from camp.
"I'm learning that some people see you, some people don't, and that it's OK for people not to see you you just have to make yourself present," Isabella said.
Polanco summed up his experience simply: "All I wanna say is love Maryland man."
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