Camp 9-1-1 canceled in St. Joseph, Michigan

An annual camp held for fourth and fifth graders in Michigan will not be taking place this year.

Sgt. Leonard Rothrock with the St. Joseph Public Safety Department, the organizer of the event, says they did not meet the minimum amount of kids needed to register for the camp.

The camp, which was supposed to run on June 11th and 12th, aims to teach area youth how to prevent common traffic and home injuries, how to give simple but life-saving emergency care, and provide information on working in public safety careers.

The camp was also going to give participants the chance to get hands-on experience in areas of law enforcement, fire services, emergency medical service, and water rescue. The kids would also have the opportunity to interact with Public Safety Officers, EMT's, and members of the Marine Division.

Sgt. Rothrock says there are even men and women who are in public safety careers now that once attended this camp.

While not sure of the exact reason why there were such low numbers of youth that registered this year, Sgt. Rothrock believes it may have to do with school getting out later than normal this year or the number of sports camps that are available to the youth.

Sgt. Rothrock says the St. Joseph Public Safety Department will be teaming up with the United Federal Bank to work on a marketing campaign for next year's camp. 

According to organizers, this would have been the 15th consecutive year the camp was held, with the previous 14 years all being successful.