Bowie council approves sponsorship of six children to attend Nike basketball camp

The Bowie City Council on July 14 voted unanimously to sponsor six children from the city to attend a Nike-affiliated basketball camp hosted by the South Bowie Boys & Girls Club in partnership with Chase Your Dreams Academy.

Carrie Bridges, athletic director for the South Bowie Boys & Girls Club and community leader for Chase Your Dreams Academy, told the council the camp has operated in Bowie for more than a decade and that last year the club negotiated reduced costs with Nike and its partners. "The Nike camp has proudly operated in the city of Bowie for well over a decade," Bridges said. She said the club and partner Sonya Chase worked to lower per-student costs so the club could offer more scholarship slots.

Bridges asked the council to support funding specifically for children who live in the city and whose families cannot afford the camp. She described outreach to county council members and a recent example of unmet need: "To illustrate the need over the weekend, a mother from Devonshire reached out after seeing our post on social media. Unfortunately, we had already exhausted available funds and were unable to help her."

Council members expressed unanimous support and directed staff to move forward. Mayor Pro Tem Wilfley and other council members said staff are accustomed to administering scholarships and could manage selection and distribution of funds. A motion to "move forward with these 6 candidates" carried without objection.

Clarifying details: At a prior meeting council discussed a funding amount of $2,100 to sponsor six participants; that figure was referenced again in tonight's discussion but was not restated as a formal line-item motion on the record. Bridges said the camp's pricing and registration details are listed on U.S. Sports Camps websites and told the council that, as she stated, the standard cost appeared on those sites as "$4.99 per participant" and that the club negotiated a reduced per-participant cost with Nike and partners to expand scholarship capacity.

What happens next: Council directed staff to administer the sponsorships and to work with Bridges and the club to expedite placement; the community services director was asked to contact Bridges to arrange logistics so children can attend upcoming sessions.

Ending: The motion passed unanimously; staff will coordinate with the South Bowie Boys & Girls Club to place the six sponsored participants.