For the last eight years, children from the Limestone County area have found joy and meaning at Camp Joy, a weeklong Bible camp held at the Limestone County Baptist Association’s newly renovated Camp Helen.

Angie Fogg, one of the camp’s founders, said the Lord prompted her husband, Tim, to start the free camp in 2010 for students in grades 1-6. The couple attends Piney Chapel Baptist Church in Ardmore, which serves as the main point for parents to drop off their campers during the week. The church then provides a bus to transport the students to Camp Helen.

Funded by a handful of people, the first camp had 50 students. It grew quickly over the next three years, prompting the Foggs to establish Joy to Share, a nonprofit organization that pays for the camp each year.

Broken up into a day camp for younger children during the earlier part of the week and an overnight camp for children in grades 4-6 from Thursday to Saturday, both camps include meals, snacks, small group Bible study and lots of time for games and outdoor activities.

Although Camp Joy is open to all children, Angie Fogg said God has made it clear the camp should remain free so everyone, regardless of income, can attend.

“We have some kids who come hungry and we are able to feed them,” she said. “We want all kids to have fun, learn about Jesus and have that great camp experience.”

“We want to give kids the opportunity to just be kids,” Fogg added.

Students come from as far as Tennessee and Cullman to attend the camp, which includes a free T-shirt and opportunities to win prizes throughout the week. More than 180 students are enrolled in the day-camp and 80 more are set to attend the older kid’s camp at the end of the week.

On Monday, Fogg said they had 93 volunteers on site, ranging from church youth workers to pastors to nurses.

“Everybody has jumped on board to help,” she said. “I especially like seeing all the youth volunteers who give up their summer to help with camp. It gives them the chance to become leaders and become bolder in their faith.”

Registration is closed for this year’s camp, but Fogg said they will start enrolling campers for the 2019 summer camp next March. To learn more about the program, visit the Camp Joy Facebook page.