The Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office last week announced a partnership with Camp Eagle in Fincastle in offering “Camp Leo”—a day camp for children in the 4th-8th grades. The camp will be held June 14-18 and is not an overnight camp. Dropoff is between 8-9 a.m., and pickup is from 4-5 p.m.
The camp offers kids the chance to learn from team-building exercises, participate in physical activities like wall-climbing, laser tag, and field games. Botetourt County School Resource Officers/Community Outreach Officers (SROs) will teach campers about different law enforcement aspects. SROs will prepare students for experiences about bullying, drugs, alcohol, the dangers of smoking, and technology.
Kids will have a chance to experience fingerprinting and other investigative processes. Campers will also have an opportunity to experience demonstrations from Botetourt’s Emergency Response Team (SWAT) and K-9 Unit.
Each day of the camp, the students will have a morning lesson provided by the SROs or the response teams. After a lunch break, from 1-4 p.m., the campers will have a chance to choose their daily afternoon activity.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Colonial Elementary Resource Officer Andrew Morris explained. “We are going to be participating with them. So, even though it’s a camp with [SROs], the campers are going to have us out there with them. If the campers are playing laser tag, we’re playing too. If the campers want to go out on the lake and jump on a blob, we’re jumping too. That’s important. They need to see us in those roles. You have community involvement. It’s such a good thing to have the support from the community.”
Camp Leo is a way for the children to interact with their resource officers outside of the school. The camp will help build a relationship with students and also the community.
The cost for Camp Leo is $220. To register, visit campeagleva.org/boco (Password: 2021boco) or visit the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page for additional information.
