Kids Across America

Kids Across America (KAA) is a network of non-profit Christian summer camps located in Golden, Missouri. It is a sports camp for urban youth, divided into four individual camps largely based on camper age. KAA-1 is for ages 10-12, KAA-2 is for ages 13-14, KAA-3 is for ages 15-18, and Higher Ground is a leadership camp for ages 15-18. The camps have a hip-hop flavor, and nearly all of the campers are Black, although a small number of Hispanic and White campers attend as well.

Begun in 1993 under the oversight of Joe White and Kanakuk, Kids Across America was created to help address the spiritual needs of urban youth, especially in the Midwest. Although no longer part of Kanakuk, the two organizations remain affiliated and there is significant interaction between the two on an administrative and practical, if not day-to-day, level.

Beginning in late May and running through mid-August, camp is divided into nine eight-day sessions, each of which accommodates approximately 120 boys and 120 girls. Kampers are separated by sex and assigned to "lockers" based on their age in months, rather than the organization or ministry which brought them. Each locker has two or three counselors and ten kampers. A unique feature of KAA is the use of Kaleos. "Kaleo" is a Greek word for light, and Kaleos are drawn from those who work with kampers in their hometowns and are not only chaperones but also receive additional training and recreation. Days at kamp are divided into periods, which include times for Bible study, specialized athletic instruction, intramural sports, free time, rest time, locker clean-up, and special nightly activities. These nightly activities include several carnival-style parties, nights of teaching, the culmination Vespers award ceremony, and most importantly, Cross Talk. Cross Talk is a passion play involving scenes of urban youth talking about their lives interspersed with a realistic reenactment of the Crucifixion. Many kampers decide to accept Christ as a result of their week at kamp.

One notable feature of Kids Across America is a specialized jargon. Like Kanakuk, KAA often substitutes a K for a hard C at the beginning of words, so that counselors are kounselors, campers are kampers, and so on. Cabins are known as lockers, and days off are known as 2-4s (as they last for 24 hours). Certain "trigger" words are also used, which when said are to be responded to with certain organized cheers.

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