COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WTVF) — Some days we have the privilege of capturing pure fun, and that's what was going on at a summer camp. These kids have been through some tough stuff, but they couldn't be happier together.
"Heck yeah, let's go!" Ronin Haag said with a clap, standing with a group of people furiously taping a cardboard box.
Ronin was one day from turning 11-years-old. A great way to spend a pre-birthday was overseeing a creative vision.
"Heck yeah!" Ronin shouted. "Let's get working, y'all. Let's go!"
Teams were making cardboard boats they'd later take out to the pool.
"The goal is to make it look as fancy as possible and win this challenge," Ronin said. "Yeah, we gotta make it float also, I forgot about the float part."
"I am the director of Camp Hope," said Brittni Davis, speaking from the camp in Columbia. "Camp Hope is a summer camp for pediatric burn survivors, ages 6 to 16. We are a Vanderbilt University Medical Center entity. All of our campers were once patients at Vanderbilt."
"I was playing with a lighter, and I didn't know better," Ronin said. "My shirt got caught on fire."
"The great thing about this is they can all come to a place where they've all been through the same thing," Brittni continued. "They all have the same scars, and they don't have to be different. They're just another kid in summer camp."
Camp's brought about a lot of great friendships.
"We like to chill," Ronin said, standing with two other boys. "We're really chill."
"That flowers great," Ronin continued, looking at the art on another team's cardboard boat.
True, and their bedazzlement was on point.
"Yo. That's a rocket ship, homie!" Ronin exclaimed, looking at another cardboard creation. "That's a full-on rocket ship!"
Ronin's team hurried over to a table to step up their boat design.
"Ooo. This sticker is fire!" Ronin said.
Camp Hope is free for the families who send their kids. Everything's funded by the community and many firefighters and nurses.
Everyone stopped and relaxed for a while. The Nashville Zoo was making an appearance at Camp Hope, and Ronin knew exactly what he wanted to see.
"I hope it's a tarantula!"
Good news, Ronin.
A tarantula was revealed and carried around for the kids to see.
"I love spiders! I love spiders! I love spiders!" Ronin smiled.
Boats were getting finished up.
"Heck yeah," Ronin said, sitting in a box covered in purple tape with balloons attached to all sides.
Ronin was feeling pretty good about this pre-birthday.
"Heck yeah, I do," he said.
For more on Camp Hope, visit here.
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
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