Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton highlights "hero program" YMCA summer camps

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Tags: Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton , Foundations

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The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton is intentional about making a difference in the community, one organization at a time. Seeing itself as "hero support," the foundation highlights grantee organizations that make a difference, who are the heroes in the community that make an impact every day. The foundation recently sang the praises of the YMCA of Central Stark County and its summer camp programs.

Program Highlight: YMCA Summer Camp

Perspectives from a new program officer (Robyn Steinmetz)

Summer is winding down and children are getting back into the school groove – some of them more prepared than others thanks to summer camp heroes like YMCA of Central Stark County.

This summer, I had the pleasure of getting to know many of the wonderful out-of-school-time providers in Stark County funded in part by the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton. These amazing heroes in our community provide much needed care and academic support for children during the summer months to combat what educators refer to as the dreaded “summer slide,” or the learning loss that can occur between the end of one school year and the beginning of another.

One of those summer camp partners is the YMCA of Central Stark County (the Y). The Y offers several summer camp options throughout the county during the months of June, July, and the beginning of August. I had the privilege of visiting the camp held at Canton City School’s Compton Community Learning Center (CLC) in July.

Like others, this camp saw between 80-100 children per day, ranging from first through sixth grade. Campers are divided up by age/grade to ensure the curriculum and activities for each group are fun and relevant to each learning level. While each class group has a lead teacher, activity specialists come into the classrooms to deliver hands-on learning activities which the students might misinterpret as play. This is a new strategy for the Y as this summer marked a goal to keep students out of “seat work” as much as possible.

At Compton, the activity specialists decided to create special units and activities around gardening, and it’s been a big hit with the students. On my visit, I was delighted to see a small mobile greenhouse near the playground. As I chatted with Y staff, we noticed a young boy, likely a first grader, who was having trouble accepting that playground time was ending and it was time to go back inside. One of the staff members giving the tour took his hand and brought him over to us. When we asked him what he liked best about camp, he proudly directed us to the greenhouse to find his pot where he had planted some seeds a few days before, grinning from ear to ear.

This past summer, the students learned about different plants, gardening, and farming and had opportunities to journal and even select age-appropriate books related to these topics to keep. The icing on the cake – each child also received a new backpack filled with school supplies to start off the school year.

Their days were filled with different activities, games, and time to unwind and just have fun as well. During my visit, I overheard a lead teacher radio the director asking for just a few more minutes in the gymnasium because they were having so much fun and wanted to finish their game. The smiles and giggles I witnessed make it safe to say the kids who attended YMCA camp at Compton CLC have had a great summer! Sisters of Charity Foundation is proud to partner with the YMCA to support this important programming to help our children learn and thrive.

The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System.