Nonprofit Summer Camps Offer Kids Much More Than S'mores

By Anne W. Howard and Cassie J. Moore

Most summer camps share a common goal: to bring together new faces, offer new activities, and provide a home-away-from-home experience that helps kids build confidence.

But the array of options nonprofit groups offer to children can be staggering.

The American Camp Association, in Martinsville, Ind., estimates that four out of five of the nation's 12,000 summer camps are run by nonprofit groups. A growing number of those camps are geared toward children who are poor or have