Mechale Murphy has been an elementary school principal for 17 years in San
Diego. Before finding her success, she lived a much different lifestyle as a
former foster child who grew up as an at-risk youth. Through The Salvation
Army’s outreach efforts, Mechale had the opportunities to attend The
Salvation Army’s Camp Gilmore three times in her youth. Her time spent at
camp changed her life!
As a foster child, Mechale felt different from other children. She
wondered if she was not wanted. She remembers growing up in a rough
part of town where gang violence and drug use were rampant. There were challenges with poverty within her own household. “Had I not gone to camp, I know I would have gotten caught up in my community”.
As a part of a community outreach program, The Salvation Army used to visit her elementary school every year and invite students to go to camp. Mechale was one of the children who got the opportunity to attend. It was during Mechale’s third year of camp where she met the camp counselor that changed her life. Her camp counselor “began to tell me about Jesus and how he cared for me and for some reason in that moment I could feel His presence. I had never felt that before. There was just such a peace.”
Mechale credits her time at Camp Gilmore to have opened her eyes to possibilities beyond her community. She found the value of education, graduated college, and now helps young students who may be facing some of the same circumstances she faced as a child in her role as an elementary school principal.
Mechale recently reconnected with The Salvation Army when she was looking for a camp for her students. After sharing her motivational story at the Kroc Center, 100 scholarships were made available for children from her school to go to camp. When Mechale looks back on her life, she knows that Jesus and The Salvation Army helped her find that peace. She is “forever grateful to Camp Gilmore and will never forget the experience.”
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