Hello, Myrtle Beach!
We’re beyond pumped to tell you that Serve Camp, the best, most-life giving camp, is coming to our community this summer! What is Serve Camp you ask? Just to be sure let’s get this out of the way, it’s not SURF Camp. Yes, we have had kids register thinking they would be surfing all week. That would be awesome actually! SERVE Camp is a summer camp that exists to inspire & empower young people to make life happen! You could say we have a ridiculous passion to make the lives of people and their communities better. Serve Camp is about getting our hands dirty (figuratively and literally) loving other people. It’s a camp that inspires and challenges young people to dream of a life as life-making servant leaders. To choose giving over getting. To choose sacrifice over entertainment. To choose love over selfishness. Serve Camp isn’t about “I” but others. It’s a camp driven by the life & message of Jesus who invites the world to join Him in making life happen!
Frankly, as you can see, Serve Camp is not your “typical” summer camp. Yeah, we have a blast but it’s so much bigger. It’s a summer experience that we have seen become a movement in young people. You know the saying, “What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” (ok, maybe not the best example but you’ll get the point), well what happens during Serve Camp doesn’t end at the end of camp. We have seen how young people’s first hand experience with the power of love to make life happen has changed and inspired them to live and think differently about themselves, others, and their life.
What began in 2011 with 17 teens in our living room in Leesburg, VA, a vision to inspire & empower young people to make life happen, has grown beyond our wildest imagination. Thousands of young people have participated in Serve Camp producing well over 285k volunteer hours creating immeasurable life in the young people serving and through them to those they have served.
This is why we say, Serve Camp is the best, most life-giving camp. In fact, we’ve been recognized as among the best summer camps by parents in Northern Virginia, our first location, for three consecutive years. We’ve even been recognized on the floor of Congress (we even got a fancy plaque for it!). But, don’t take our word for it, discover for yourself what the thousands of young people over the last 12 years have discovered - the power of love to make life happen. The life-giving ripple effect of young people striving together to make the lives of people and their communities better while having a blast!
Having vacationed as a family in Myrtle for seventeen years and now living here in Carolina Forest, we can honestly say, while chomping on the bit, we CAN NOT wait to serve side by side with you this summer to make the lives of people and our Myrtle Beach community better. As we often like to say,
Let’s make life happen Together!
Sal & Jamie
Founders & Executive Directors
Discover Serve Camp
Here’s how it works. Serve Camp is built around love projects (what we call community service projects). Each day teams of young people serve to meet the needs of individuals, families, neighborhoods, and organizations seeking to do good. Love projects vary from day to day and are based on the needs of others. It can be anything from working on a home needing some love (i.e. painting, yard work, decluttering), feeding the hungry, visiting the elderly, serving those who help our community, car washes to raise money for a cause, random acts of kindness, and so, so much more. We even help young people create and implement their own love project! Some love projects are “on site” (where camp begins and ends each day) or “off-site” (where the need exists). Yes, we got transportation covered. Oh…and in case you're wondering, we have a blast making life happen. Again, don’t take our word for it, ask the thousands of young people (and their parents) who’ve participated in Serve Camp over the last 12 years. If we got just one dollar for everytime we heard (cheesy but you get the point), “I don’t know how you do it, I have to beg and plead to get my teens to do anything around the house but they were up and ready before I was to get to Serve Camp this morning” or “Serve Camp is our kids favorite camp. They love it more than their sports and “fun” camps.”
Who, What, Where, When, Why, How…
We know, we know, we can’t control our excitement either! We’ll share an overview of the summer schedule here, but you can find more specific details on our separate Myrtle pages. Here’s what we can tell you - for our LAUNCH year we will be offering two weeks of Serve Camp Myrtle Beach:
JUNIOR Serve Camp - DATES/TIMES TBD
This camp is for rising 1st-5th grades. By rising we mean the grade you will be going into Fall 2023. Teams are formed based on 1-2nd, 3-4th, and 5th grades. You can find more information about Junior Serve Camp on our “Junior SC - Myrtle” page.
TEEN Serve Camp - DATES/TIMES TBD
This camp is for rising 6th-11th grades. By rising we mean the grade you will be going into Fall 2023. Teams are formed based on 6-8th grades and 9-11th grades. You can find more information about Teen Serve Camp on our “Teen SC - Myrtle” page.
We know you just have to know.…Yes, we do friend requests. Yes, your child will connect and love it even if they don’t know anyone and only play video games all day. Ah yeah, of course you get an awesome camp shirt - would it even be a camp without one? Yes, our counselors are trained and are CPR/First Aid/AED certified. Trust us, your child’s counselor will be pumped to hang with awesome young people and has a passion to inspire & empower them to make life happen. Oh and one last thing, the Friday of camp week is Celebration Day which means we’re done serving (we all need a break, right?) and we will spend the whole day having a blast hanging out with our new friends and amazing counselors (did we just pat ourselves on the back? Maybe).
I was a camper there for many years and now part of the staff, and I can truly and sincerely say that this camp greatly contributed to the person I am today. Serve Camp is the place that I found my love for volunteering and helping the community. This camp empowers youth and continues to make a vital impact in the next generation of children and teens. Here at Serve Camp, you are never alone. This camp is truly special. Every single staff member thrives to build community and friendship throughout the entire summer. I will never be able to fully articulate the love I have for this camp but I’ll continue to work there over the summer just to pay back a little bit of what they’ve given to me.
My children have cherished their experiences at Serve Camp for the past 9 summers. We are so grateful for the opportunities they’ve both had and the personal growth they’ve demonstrated. From the friendships they’ve made, to the service projects they’ve participated in, they hold their weeks at Serve Camp in their core memories. They continue to claim it’s the best week of their summer!
As someone who has always loved community service, Serve Camp provided me an opportunity to meet other individuals my age with a similar passion. Through group projects and outreach, I formed life long friendships that have changed my life for the better.
From making new friendships to finding Jesus, Serve Camp has it all. The impact that Serve Camp has had on my life is profound and I am so thankful to be able to be a part of this team and the mission. The counselors are extremely dedicated and the camp experience is truly unrivaled, I have been going to Serve Camp for years and I truly cannot think of a week where I was disappointed By my experience. My favorite part about Serve Camp is being able to see the impact being made throughout the community and being able to see the impact in every one of the campers.
Eight years ago, I was blessed enough to become involved with Serve Camp. As a camper, I was able to witness the impact that this life-giving camp had on the community and each person involved. When I aged out of the camp, I wanted to stay connected, so I began volunteering as a CIT, and this past summer I became a counselor! Serve Camp has shown me that I have the power to make a difference in my community and even given me an opportunity to watch how the impact of our projects affect those in need. The genuine fulfillment I feel knowing I changed someone’s life is unlike any other. Also, as a camper, I met so many amazing people who have become big role models to me, and by being a counselor, I strive to be that person for my campers.
Over the years I’ve sent all four of my daughters to Serve Camp and every year it’s the one camp they cannot wait to attend. From the first thing in the morning when I drop them off to high fives and enthusiasm, to the end of the day goodbyes, it just feels right knowing they are making friends and learning life lessons and doing downright good in the community. I highly recommend Serve Camp to all my friends and neighbors.
Serve Camp has shown me the importance of helping my community as we do different love projects throughout the year. Back in 2017 I started out as a humble camper who couldn’t care less about volunteering. Serve Camp however changed that as it showed me how far a little hard work can go. Now I am a staff member here and it warms my heart seeing the new generation of campers helping their community.
Serve Camp has introduced me to an amazing community of people while allowing me to serve both the Lord and those in need. This service has been some of the most rewarding I have ever done, so much so that it barely even feels like hard work! Camp has shown me the joy that comes with serving others and has been a place where I can grow, both in maturity and faith. I am looking forward to another amazing summer of Serve Camp this year, and eagerly await the opportunities it will bring!