‘It Was Heartbreaking’: Free Summer Camp In West Charlotte Canceled

WEST CHARLOTTE, NC — At least two dozen children are out of a place to go for summer camp after the organizer said  it got shut down before it could even start. 

“It was discouraging for parents who had to be inconvenienced by this because they had a plan to have their children here Monday through Friday,” Jacqueline Lewis said. 

Jacqueline Lewis, the camp’s organizer, says she planned the free summer camp program at the West Charlotte Recreation Center for kids ages 5 through 15. 

“This was going to be good for the community,” Lewis said. 

 Lewis said recreation center leaders told her they did not have enough space just days before the camp was set to start on June 17. 

We reached out to the recreation center about the issue and received this statement which says in part:

 “A  request to host a summer camp at West Charlotte Recreation center was made on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. At that time, recreation center staff communicated to the requester, Jacqueline Lewis, that it was too late to host the summer camp at West Charlotte Recreation center, according to park and recreation’s standard process and timeline for summer camp contracts.”

Lewis said  she was not aware of the timeline.

She hoped it would be an alternative to the violence often seen involving youth in the West Charlotte community – a mission close to her heart after losing both her son and grandson to gun violence just months apart. 

“I just wanted to be a help to the community. I stopped working my job so I could put all my time into this community,” Lewis said. 

She hopes she will be able to find a new location that can still host a camp this summer. 

“I want these kids to be in a camp by Monday. That’s my goal to have them in a camp by Monday,”