Mount Airy has become one of the few localities in North Carolina to receive grant assistance for a summer adventure camp program for local youths which, among other activities, will include a trip to the beach.
This involves a $175,000 21st Century Community Learning Center Summer Mini-Grant awarded to the Reeves Community Foundation from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. The local foundation is a charitable arm of Mount Airy Parks and Recreation and is one of 14 agencies selected for what local officials consider a unique grant opportunity.
The funding will support a summer camp program spearheaded by local recreation officials on the heels of a highly successful session in 2021.
It is open to 60 rising sixth graders to rising ninth graders in the community, for which the grant will be used to promote learning and enrichment opportunities.
The Parks and Recreation Department wants to target this age group, whose members are at an impressionable time in their lives.
“This is definitely their formative years,” Parks and Recreation Director Peter Raymer said Monday regarding a segment of society with which local officials want to build positive relationships for the future.
On behalf of the Reeves Community Center Foundation, the city recreation staff will be operating the camp in partnership with other local agencies.
The foundation will buy all equipment and supplies and contract with Mount Airy Parks and Recreation, Mount Airy City Schools, Surry Health and Nutrition Center, N.C. Cooperative Extension and the Surry Arts Council to provide a well-rounded summer slate.
Multi-faceted approach
“This is a free camp for participants, so there is no fee to register,” Raymer said.
Persons interested can stop by the community center and fill out a form. Priority will be given to returning campers and next, students of city campuses. After that, any remaining space will be open to youths at large who fit into the specified grade range.
The role of the summer camp initiative has great significance when considering what the youthful participants might be engaged in otherwise during their leisure time in between school terms, Raymer added.
This doesn’t mean they would be doing bad things, but maybe just sitting at home watching television, playing video games or otherwise captivated by electronic pursuits.
Meanwhile, the camp — to begin on June 13 — will be focused on outdoor recreation activities, fitness and arts involvement, while also being fun.
“There is an education component as well,” Raymer said, with career exploration and North Carolina history included.
One of the program’s goals is keeping students’ minds in a learning mode so they can pick up where they left off when classes resume.
Special trips
“Every Friday we’ll have Field Trip Friday,” Raymer said, which will involve visits to state parks in the area including Pilot Mountain, Hanging Rock and New River Trail State Park in Virginia.
A highlight of the program will be a trip to the beach on July 25 to cap off the summer camp, with the exact coastal destination yet to be determined.
“We are still trying to make a final decision on that,” Raymer said Monday. “We might try to go to Atlantic Beach once again.”
In 2021, this involved a three-night stay filled with activities including side trips to Fort Macon State Park, the N.C. Aquarium and a barrier island where wild horses roam.
“Last year’s beach trip went very, very smoothly,” Raymer said of an excursion that marked the first time some of the youths had journeyed to the coast — thus creating a lifetime of memories for them.
Mount Airy officials considered that visit extremely valuable, including Commissioner Jon Cawley, who accompanied the group as one of the adult chaperones.
“It changed a number of lives,” Cawley said during a recent city government planning retreat.
“The summer of 2021 was one of the most-impactful summers in the history of Reeves Community Center and Mount Airy Parks and Recreation,” Raymer and Assistant City Manager Darren Lewis (then recreation director) concurred in a statement.
Lewis says a “huge shout-out” is due Raymer for his help in preparing the grant application.
“We are excited about this opportunity.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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