Summer Camp at the Gifford Youth Achievement Center

Article and photos by Carly Lenhardt, IRCF Marketing & Communications Intern

Summer Camp at the Gifford Youth Achievement Center is in full swing! The camp includes both breakfast and lunch, education, and several different recreational activities including swimming, skating, bowling, golf, and field trips for 45 dollars per child. Beyond that, the camp is an opportunity for underprivileged children in the community to be surrounded by an atmosphere consisting of devoted teachers and friendship that together creates a passion for learning that the kids can carry into the next grade. Campers are grouped together by grade and receive a designated teacher and classroom.

“Our goal for summer camp is to prepare students for the upcoming school year...we keep them engaged academically in the summer, but we also have time for recreational field trips in the afternoon,” Angelia Perry said.

The GYAC nurtures children's ability to dream big by inspiring them both inside and outside the classroom. For example, the GYAC partners with the Science Institute of Discovery, Inc. during Summer Camp to show the kids different fields of STEAM through field trips to the Environmental Learning Center and more.

In the fall, many campers transition to the Afterschool Program which offers similar amenities to summer camp including tutoring, cultural enrichment, and recreational programs. In the past ten years, there has been a 46.4% increase in enrollment. In 2019, a new educational wing was added to accommodate for the added growth called the Cis and Bill Glavin Educational Center which the Foundation played an integral role in. With more funding, the GYAC seeks to help more children in the community by being able to support more students and take them off the ever-growing waitlist.