David James

It looks like a typical summer camp but its mission is far from typical. On Chicago Tonight at 7:00 pm, Eddie Arruza takes us to Camp TWIG in Winnetka where the kids not only have fun, but learn something important about each other.

TWIG, which stands for Together We Influence Growth, began in 1966. It was the brainchild of David James, who was the first African American to buy a home in Winnetka. David and his wife Mary lived in Chicago’s Park Manor neighborhood on the South Side. But after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak on the Village Green in the summer of 1965, David James was encouraged to buy a home in the North Shore.

After the family moved to Winnetka, Mary James started bringing some of their children’s friends from Chicago to visit. Neighborhood children joined in and Camp TWIG was born.

For the past 45 years, children from different cultural worlds have integrated and learned from each other in a six-week summer day camp, ages 7 to 12. The camp continues to bring children from the same South Side neighborhoods to Greeley School in Winnetka for a summer of fun and learning for all children involved.

To see a slideshow of photos from Camp TWIG, check out the gallery below.

Click image to view photo gallery

For more on Camp TWIG, click here.