WOODLAWN – The plan was to sell french fries to help bring back summer camp.

On Sunday, Sept. 15 Archie’s Chip Stand in Woodlawn held a Parking Lot Fundraiser to help raise money for the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa. The event was one of several Crystal Childs had organized to help her reach a goal of $5,000 to help bring back full-time camp opportunities to Camp Minwassin/Smitty.

“So far so good,” Childs told West Carleton Online from the parking lot party Sunday afternoon (Sept. 15). “Everybody is here to help the Boys and Girls Club.”

Everybody included Archie’s owner Dave Anderson who is an alumnus of the camp, Boom 99.7 FM and host Jon ‘Gonzo’ Mark who calls Dunrobin home, representatives of the Boys and Girls Club, musician Luc Brisson and a cast of entertainers, characters and merry makers.

Childs, a Kanata resident, is raising money for the club because of recent cutbacks the camp has faced in recent years. Last year Camp Minwassin/Smitty was only able to host five mini-sessions instead of the usual two-week sessions underprivileged children used to enjoy.

“It’s a pretty significant cutback,” Childs said.

The camp is important to Childs because she credits it for providing her with an opportunity she never would have had growing up in poverty.

“My mother couldn’t afford camp,” she said. “She was a single parent. Because of the Boys and Girls Club, I was able to grow up at summer camp. It was my only time to get away. It was my Disneyland, so it is near and dear to my heart. The goal is to restore the program next summer.”

Before the final tally from the Archie’s fundraiser, Childs was already at $4,000. By the end of the day, thanks to the fundraiser, Childs was $934 closer to her goal.

Childs’ fundraising campaign ends Sept. 30 and she has one more event planned in Kanata. It looks like she is going to have no problem reaching that $5,000 goal.