HILLIARD, Fla. — Know a kid going down the wrong path?
For the first time, Northeast Florida will have a camp from the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches program for at-risk kids. The camp will be free to 1,500 kids a year. Organizers are hoping to start the first session this August, depending on how the pandemic plays out this summer.
WWE star Titus O'Neil, whose real name is Thaddeus Bullard, says the camp in Live Oak years ago turned his life around when he was boy.
"I grew up without a father," O'Neil says.
Gator fans will recognize his name from his football days in Gainesville. WWE fans across the world and "a billion followers on social media," he says, follow his sport. What they may not realize is how tough his childhood was.
However, O'Neil says, when he went to camp, for the first time, "I found a refuge." He also found mentors in the law enforcement community.
That's one huge plus of the camps, according to Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper. He's thrilled NE Florida will get its first camp.
"It does change lives. We've seen it," he says.
The camp will be located in Hilliard in Nassau County on the land previously owned by First Baptist Church. Co-founder of Firehouse Subs, Robin Sorensen, and his wife, Tabitha, donated $900,000 to acquire the land, which already has cabins and some structures for a camp program. A $3.7 million dollar campaign is now underway to expand the camping program at the site.
Sorensen says, "After doing our research, we were surprised to find out that the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch did not have a facility in Northeast Florida."
The camp, in addition to the mentoring aspect, will offer leadership activities and summer fun, such as swimming, canoeing, archery and high ropes.
Across Florida, 7,000 kids each year attend a camp from the program, which has been active since 1962 in some places in the state.
The nonprofit is looking for donors to finish building the camp in Hilliard. It's called "Camp Sorensen."
If you'd like more information about Youth Ranches, call 1-800-765-3797 or go to www.youthranches.org.
