Mission Statement

The mission of Sawyerville Day Camp is to broaden the horizons of participants and staff, improve race relations, and enrich the lives of those living in poverty in Hale County, Alabama and the surrounding areas.

History

1980s – Episcopal parishes in the Black Belt worked together to offer a day camp for children in the area
1990s - The day camp officially began in 1993, and the project was passed on to the youth of the diocese in 1996
2009 - Grew from one to two camp sessions
2013 - Grew from two to three camp sessions 
2014 - Yellowhammer Learning Program began
2017 – First Person2Person race relations workshop, first mentoring program for Greensboro High School students, and first scholarships awarded to former campers and counselors

Cultural Information

Sawyerville Day Camp and the Yellowhammer Learning Program take place in Greensboro, AL which is in Hale County. Hale County is one of the most impoverished counties in the state. Because of its remote location, there are few resources or opportunities available to residents.

According to the 2016 Alabama Kids Count Data Book, in Hale County:
  • 27.9% of residents live below the poverty line.
  • 42.6% of children live in poverty.
  • 27% receive SNAP benefits.
  • 24.5% report food insecurity.
  • 28.6% of children report childhood food insecurity.
  • 34.9 % of 8th grade students are proficient in reading.
  • 8.5% of 8th grade students are proficient in math.
  • Hale County ranks 57 out of 67 Alabama counties in child well-being which includes health, safety, education, and economic stability.
​There is something extraordinary and wonderful about having a place you belong, a community of the children of God that accepts and values you as you are.  The Sawyerville ministry is made of hundreds of parts and people – from bus rides to writing projects, from drum circles and energetic songs to quiet reflections and tearful goodbyes and stories that shape the lives of campers and staff alike – but it’s the belonging that makes it magical, a communion of unlikely saints who come together to seek and find Jesus in each other, and so find Jesus in themselves.

-The Right Reverend Kee Sloan, Bishop of Alabama