SENECA — A church in Seneca wants to continue with a summer camp for children despite lacking the money to pay for it.

When New Beginnings Outreach Baptist Church in Seneca planned its first six-week summer program offering young children fun, learning and meals, organizers anticipated that the camp would receive ABC vouchers, the Rev. Horace Alexander, pastor of the church, said.

“The families we are servicing did not qualify for the vouchers,” Alexander said. “So we are going to need some financial support to continue the program.”

Currently, the Summer Camp 2008 is operating from week to week, offering arts and crafts, preschool preparation, computer classes, fitness classes and three meals a day to children ages 3 through 12.

The camp, which runs from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m., is being held at New Beginnings.

“The goal is to keep the kids off the streets, to give kids an option who may not have anything to do during the summer to try to deter them from inappropriate environments or behavior,” Alexander said. “We are paying for staff and for supplies, and we need charitable contributions to cover the operating expenses.”

In the future, the church will be more prepared to run the camp, holding fundraisers and seeking help from local and state legislators, Alexander said.

A donation to Full Circle Community Development Corporation, the nonprofit sponsoring the camp, will help it to continue. For more information, call Alexander at (864) 940-5180.