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BCH dedicates Camp Duncan, fulfills dream
J. Blake Ragsdale, BCH Communications
November 18, 2010
3 MIN READ TIME

BCH dedicates Camp Duncan, fulfills dream

BCH dedicates Camp Duncan, fulfills dream
J. Blake Ragsdale, BCH Communications
November 18, 2010

Nearly 500 guests who have

shared the dream of a wilderness camp for girls, based on the Cameron Boys Camp

model, helped to dedicate Camp Duncan for girls in Aberdeen Oct. 30.

“Ladies and gentlemen … dreams

do come true,” Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina (BCH) President

Michael C. Blackwell announced to the crowd.

Several attempts through the

years to create a girls camp fell short. But when the late Haskell and Gay

Duncan made their expansive residential property in Aberdeen available to BCH,

they provided the ideal location. Now, during BCH’s 125th anniversary and 30

years after the opening of Cameron Boys Camp, Camp Duncan for girls has

arrived.

BCH photo

Arwen Hays, a counselor at Camp Duncan, gives a tour of the girls’ campsite to guests attending the dedication. Girls will live at the campsite with Arwen and other female counselors as part of the therapeutic camping program.

“This is God’s timing,”

Blackwell proclaimed. “When God opens the door you have to be ready to move

through it. That is what has happened with Camp Duncan.”

Through the help of North

Carolina Baptist Men, contractor Chuck Scott, and hundreds of volunteer

laborers, BCH has repurposed the Duncan’s residential land and its existing

facilities for the camp.

“There has been so much

support … so many churches involved in building Camp Duncan,” said Camp

Duncan Director Paul Daley, a 30-year veteran of BCH, most of which he spent

directing Cameron Boys Camp.

“You are part of building a spiritual heritage.

It’s all about Jesus and what He’s wanted us to do.”

Since early 2009, more than

2,000 volunteers have worked to transform the property.

“The volunteer efforts and

numerous donations have been vital,” Blackwell said. “Without the overwhelming

generosity of North Carolina Baptists and so many others there would be no Camp

Duncan.”

Camp Duncan will serve

school-aged girls. The children will live outside year round in a

highly-structured, wilderness environment. Three female staff members called

chiefs have been hired to serve as the counselors to the initial group of 10

girls. The goal is to help girls and their families overcome the challenges and

obstacles in their lives and reunify the household.

Like all of BCH’s programs,

Camp Duncan is Christ-centered. A very special place on the property is the

outdoor chapel where the girls will worship

“This has been one of the

most remarkable years ever at BCH,” Blackwell said, “And the dedication of Camp

Duncan is one of the events that has made it even more remarkable.”