This past Thursday, July 3, Atlanta witnessed a significant event dedicated to fostering youth engagement and recreation, featuring the second annual Camp HBCYouth field day.
Held at B.T. Harvey Stadium, the event brought together young attendees from several summer camps across historically Black college and university (HBCU) campuses, including Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Clark Atlanta University.
The day’s activities included traditional field day games like relay races and tug-of-war, along with specialized football training sessions organized by the AJ Terrell Foundation, underscoring the event’s commitment to both recreation and skill development.
Lauren Reed, the Director of Marketing for Camp HBCYouth and a proud 2011 Spelman graduate, emphasized the day’s aim: “We want this to be the funnest day of the summer. Today is all about fun.”
The camp, which serves children from rising kindergarteners to fifth graders, has adjusted its timeline this summer, operating for six to seven weeks due to construction at participating campuses.
Co-founder and Executive Director Reagan Fresnel, a 2018 Spelman graduate, shared her vision for the camp, aiming to cultivate a supportive environment akin to the one she experienced in college.
Fresnel noted, “The HBCU values that were fully instilled in me at Spelman College of higher excellence and community and stewardship were things that really resonated with me. We wanted to extend this type of experience to the younger generation and really start that pipeline sooner.”
For Fresnel, hosting the camp at Spelman signifies a full-circle experience, as the institution has not facilitated youth programming for over two decades.
“So much pride, to be able to come back and support my alma mater and support the local community surrounding the school that did so much for me,” she expressed.
The camp took a unique approach to staffing by employing HBCU students and graduates as counselors, providing them with valuable skills training and development opportunities while also serving as relatable role models for the younger participants.
Reed elaborated, “We want them to be able to work with and look up to people who they can actually see themselves in. So pulling HBCU students is just a small piece of the puzzle in this pipeline that we are trying to build to get Black youths to HBCUs.”
Skylar Sanford, a rising senior sociology major at Spelman, expressed her enthusiasm for joining the camp as a counselor, combining her passions for mentorship, marketing, and business.
“I really have a big passion for mentorship and just giving back to kids who just need a big sister or just any type of support,” Sanford said. “I’m just so excited to see their faces when they see the balloon bounce, and they see the water guns, and they’re just so happy to be here.”
The AJ Terrell Foundation, established by Atlanta Falcons cornerback Aundell “AJ” Terrell Jr. in his rookie season, has been a key sponsor of the camp’s health and wellness programming for the past two years.
Participating in the field day, Terrell emphasized the importance of being present in the community: “It wasn’t even something that was hard to find or hard to want to do. It was kind of something that was super important to me. I don’t like to give back and be virtual. I like to be present, giving back so the kids can actually see and I can hear and give advice straight to them.”
The AJ Terrell Foundation, represented by Executive Director Ashley Cargle-Thompson and Philanthropy & Programming Executive Tanisha Valliant-Irvin, aligns its mission with the objective of strengthening Atlanta through youth development.
Thompson stated, “The primary part of our mission at the AJ Terrell Foundation is strengthening Atlanta through its greatest resource, which is the youth. Camp HBCYouth just has such an amazing concept for inner-city Atlanta youth.”
The foundation operates under the guiding principle of action, encouraging direct community engagement rather than conventional philanthropic practices.
Thompson noted, “We really firmly believe that finding other organizations that are doing the work on the ground and supporting them, amplifying them, and ensuring that everyone’s pulling in the same direction. That’s when you really get to see the impact most clearly.”
Emphasizing a commitment to long-term community involvement, Valliant-Irvin added, “We don’t ever want to just show up for a year or two. We want to be here, and we want to have a long, lasting legacy of his name, his vision, his impact in the community of Atlanta.”
Camp HBCYouth focuses on creating safe spaces for minority youth while immersing them in HBCU culture and values.
Since its inception at Morgan State University in Baltimore, the camp has expanded its reach to include Tennessee State University and various Atlanta University Center campuses.
Fresnel highlighted the lasting impact of the camp, indicating that children continue to resonate with Terrell and express admiration for him during the NFL season, thanks to their experiences at the camp.
“All of the kids look up to him,” Fresnel remarked. “Our parents reach out to us, and like, AJ is my child’s favorite athlete now, all because of the experience of them meeting him at Camp HBCYouth.”
Terrell shared his vision for the future, looking forward to expanding youth programming through his foundation.
While this field day marked the end of the summer camp events before the NFL season kicks off, Terrell has plans for additional events throughout the football season and anticipates significant growth for his foundation’s camp initiatives in 2026.
“Year in and year out, I just try to find different ways to give back to the youth,” he explained. “These are one of those that I want to keep going on and on and on.”
image source from：theatlantavoice
