Five men had a vision—to give back to a place that has meant so much to them and to help young boys form the same kind of bond with the Royal Ambassadors McCall Camp, located in Sunset, north of Pickens, South Carolina. Since 1995, Friends of McCall board members, comprised of former Camp McCall staff members, have provided scholarships to send boys to the camp, provided capital improvements, and given gifts to current staff members, all through funding from dues-paying members of the organization.
      “The McCall RA Camp changed my life,” Michael Barnes, one of the five men who formed Friends of McCall and who is still active as a board member, told this writer.
      Barnes was once a camper at Camp McCall. Now, he takes his own sons there. 
      He still remembers his first year as a camper, as a nine-year-old boy who formed a bond with a staff member. “I know that guy now,” said Barnes. “At the time, I thought he was a grown man, but he was just 18 years old.” 
      The camp has made such a difference in Barnes’ life, in more ways than one. The Florence native lives in Easley, to be close to the camp. Moving to the Upstate led him to meeting his wife, Deanne. “Just about everything in my life goes back to that place,” he said of Camp McCall. “That’s why it’s special to me. Plus, I’ve seen what it does. I’ve seen kids come through that place, and it has changed their lives. I know that the McCall RA Camp works.” 
      Barnes wants to give back to the camp by investing in the lives of the current campers, through Friends of McCall. 
      The organization is committed to three main objectives. 
      “Providing scholarships to boys who could not have gone to camp otherwise is our number one goal,” he said. “Our constitution states that we will send at least five kids to camp each year. We decided that, this year, we would like to increase that to the number of years we have been in business. Every year, we’ll increase by one scholarship. 
      “We also provide money for some capital improvements to the camp,” he said. “One of the first things we did was to provide $9,000 to start dredging the lake. The Convention provided a lot of money to get it done. We spent $16,000 four years ago to have a rock façade put on the outside of a cement block building, to make it complete. We have helped with refurbishing some buildings. Two years ago, we paid $25,000 to have a 150-foot waterslide installed that runs up the side of the mountain and goes into the lake. This year, we will spend $25,000 to install a 65-foot waterslide into the swimming area for the younger boys.
       “The third thing we do every year is give a gift to all of the current staff members, usually in the form of a t-shirt to designate that they’re on staff. When I was there (as a staff member), from 1979 to 1982, about 26 people were on staff. Now, about 55 are on staff.” 
      All of the contributions from Friends of McCall are made possible through the donations of the 40 dues-paying members, who each contribute a minimum of $75 a year. “Some people are very generous and give much more than that,” said Barnes. “We’re very appreciative of that. We do a lot with very few people. We’re thinking, ‘What could we do if we had a lot of people?’ 
      “I love the place. I want to see the best for it and anything we can do to promote it. 
      “So many churches are doing away with RA’s and GA’s now and are going to other things. A lot of churches think that, if they don’t have an RA program, they can’t send their kids to Camp McCall, but that’s not the case.” 
      This year, the Friends of McCall organization is making a promotional DVD, a copy of which will be given to at least one person from each church represented by the campers. The DVD will also include a slide show of photos taken at camp. “There will be a part at the end, to encourage kids to come back and bring a friend,” said Barnes. “We’re hoping that will be a plus as far as promoting the camp for years to come.” 
      Cliff Satterwhite, R.A. Director for the South Carolina Baptist Convention, called Friends of McCall “a very dedicated collection of former camp staff and friends of the ministry of McCall. 
      “Friends of McCall have consistently provided camper scholarships to a great number of boys who would not have been able to have attended camp without this assistance,” he said. “They also have been a driving force in the physical development in multiple areas, such as the lake improvement, archery range, riflery range, mountain rock on the activity building, rocking the Horton-Hyatt outdoor facility, and providing the new slide for the non-swimmers at Lake Chiliwater. This group in Friends of McCall seeks to be a positive influence and continues to assist McCall as we help boys and men grow and develop in Jesus’ name.” 
      Anyone wishing to contribute to Friends of McCall may send donations to P.O. Box 83, Pickens, SC 29671. Barnes may be contacted at 864-525-8424.


Related story:  Camp McCall