POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A team of people is putting their resources together to build a fishing campground for hundreds of kids in Mulberry.

“This started as a fishing trip with my neighbor’s son, he didn’t have a father figure in his life,” said William Dunn, the founder and CEO of Taking a Kid Fishing Inc.

Dunn said when he saw the big difference those little fishing trips made in that kid’s life, he started taking more kids fishing.

“Three years ago I started my non-profit, Take a Kid Fishing Inc. and I’ve taken at least 2,500 kids fishing since then,” he recalled.

The new pond located in Imperial Lakes will be the first official campground for Dunn to call his own.

“There’s 29,000 homes in here; that’s a lot of kids,” he said. “We’ll have kids fishing derbies. I’ll bring the fishing rods. It’s going to be a blessing.”

Treerehab and Thielen Environment LLC of Eagle Lake donated its weekend to help reconstruct the landscape.

“Anything that’s a hazard, we’ll get out of here so the kids can safely fish,” said Treerehab owner Jackie Brown. “We just found out about this organization and we want to give back to our community.”

Dunn said that his non-profit is completely run by community donations, something that he and the kids are extremely grateful for. ​