Greenville YMCA director Tina Caver’s top priority is teaching kids how to stay active and healthy throughout the summer.

But more importantly, Caver wants them to have fun doing it.

To that end, the Greenville YMCA is serving as host for a summer-long camp, which is already underway, and is scheduled to run throughout the summer until August 19.

Camp begins each day at 6:30 a.m. and lasts until 6 p.m., with a variety of activities and games planned throughout the week, including swimming daily and Air Jumpz every Friday.

Camp fees are $100 per week for non-members, or $80 per week for members, and breakfast and lunch are provided for camp participants each day.

There will also be a drop-off service offered to parents who would only like their children to participate on a daily basis.

“If you don’t need the whole week and you want to drop your kids off for the day, we have day fees, as well,” Caver said.

“You can do a week at a time, you can do a month or you can do the whole summer.  It’s all up to you.”

But this year’s camp offers a bit more to YMCA members and non-members alike.

“We are also offering mini camps this year, including a tennis camp and an art camp,” Caver said.

“Those (fees) are additional to summer camp, but you get a significant discount as a summer camp participant.  But anyone can participate — you don’t have to be a member or a summer camp participant to sign up for either.”

The tennis camp is being helmed by Johnny Mack Brown, and is scheduled to run for three weeks in both June and July, at a cost of $25 per week for non-members and only $12 per week for members or camp participants.

Likewise, Stacey Edwards will manage the art camp, which is slated for July. An exact date has not yet been set. It will cost non-members $45 per week, and members and camp participants only $25 per week.

But ultimately, Caver said that it’s important that kids continue to do something over the summer, particularly if that something involves keeping their bodies moving.

For them, camp might not just be a fun way to spend the summer, but a means of cultivating a healthier way of living for life.

“The younger we can reach the children, the more we can teach them early on and the better their lifestyle will be, and the better chances they will have to be a healthy adult,” Caver said.

“If we wait and have poor habits now, they tend to carry us into our adulthood. It’s easier to teach a child to make better choices than it is an adult sometimes.”

For more information about summer camp registration, contact Caver at (334) 382-0550.