DECATUR - When they arrived in Decatur last weekend, Kymberli Davenport wasn't planning on spending much of the week with her brother Elijah.

She wanted the time to relax and maybe do some shopping.

But after seeing how much the camp he planned to attend would benefit somebody like her and how much he wanted to do it, she decided Camp CEO at Millikin University would be good for her, too.

"I thought it would be fun," said Kymberli, 15. "After the first meeting, I thought it would be a good experience for me."

Like her brother and the other campers, Kymberli wants to start her own business when she is older. Her dream is to open a bakery that sells healthy cakes and cookies, and dog treats, too.

But what sets her brother, 14-year-old Elijah, apart is that he chose to attend the camp as his one wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

"It's mostly about him," Kymberli said with a laugh. "I just go along."

Elijah, who is from Harrisburg, Pa., who was born with congenital heart defects and hydrocephalus, qualified for the assistance. Until they started looking into attending the camp, his mother, Ilka Davenport, didn't even know it would be possible to receive the aid.

"I just thought it was for kids who are terminally ill," said Ilka Davenport, who works for the Hershey Chocolate Co. and made the trip to Decatur with her children. The Davenports also are ambassadors for the Children's Miracle Network.

They found out about the business camp for high school students through its Web site and started contacting the staff at Millikin to find out if it would be possible to attend. The camp staff worked with the Davenports to make the trip from Pennsylvania a reality.

"Elijah will have a positive impact for life because of it," Ilka Davenport said. "Financially, I couldn't do it. I couldn't afford to bring them out to come to the camp. Never in my life would I have thought that I would have had to use these types of foundations, but you just never know."

Elijah and Kymberli's interest in business started when they were younger and had a puppet show at the local family festival. They turned it into a lemonade and popcorn stand called Keds Lemonade.

"We had T-shirts and everything," said Elijah, who is interested in business in part because he enjoys making money and receiving a paycheck.

Now Elijah said he wants to grow up to be an Internet marketer. He's started selling items on eBay to see how well he can do at making a profit.

He said he could have wished for items to help his Internet sales but decided the camp would be a better experience.

"That stuff wouldn't last for long, but if I came here, I knew I would learn info to benefit me in the long run," Elijah said.

Besides, Kymberli said, they'd already been to Disney World.

Connie Beck, Millikin Regional Entrepreneurship Network Director, said the staff was honored and humbled to host Elijah and his family. This was the first year Millikin has held the camp, and she was pleased to have a family come from so far out of its target market.

"The whole goal is to make the camp the best experience any of the campers have ever had and for them to walk away with something that is valuable to them not only now, but throughout their entire life," Beck said. "In some way, we're hoping we were helping him fulfill his dream."

Kymberli hopes that next year the camp is able to attract more students. She and her brother have enjoyed meeting new friends, and it will be hard to return home after camp ends on Friday.

Ilka Davenport hopes to see her son achieve more of his dreams.

"As long as he takes care of himself, the doctors say he'll hopefully be around for a long time," Ilka Davenport said. "But he will always have to be under a doctor's care."

Chris Lusvardi can be reached at clusvardi@herald-review.com or 421-7972.