Summer Learning with 100 Black Men & St. Vincent Unity Development

As an employee of MCCOY, a social worker and most importantly, a parent, I know the importance of summer learning. Kids who don’t use their brains during the summer, lose most of what they’ve learned during the school year and fall behind their peers that do use their brains during the summer. As a parent who pays for a private school education, having my child “forget” what she learned is just unacceptable! For the second year Nya has attended summer camp hosted by 100 Black Men and St. Vincent’s Unity Development Corporation. She loves camp and wakes up every morning at 6:00am looking forward to another day. When I ask her about her day she talks about writing in her journal, reading books, math class with Project SEED, art class with Art With a Heart, and using the computer for the Ticket to Read program. She goes outside twice a day and enjoys the friendships she makes during camp. Classroom work is an important part of the camp, but so is enrichment via field trips. Nya has gone to the zoo, the Children’s Museum, the Universoul Circus, but also to the Ruth Lilly Health Center and the Survive Alive Firehouse where she learned all about fire safety and burn prevention. And would you believe that she has done all of this in seven weeks for $150!!

The motto for the camp is “Building a Better Me” and in all that they do there is the underlying presence of helping young people to be the best they can be through learning, exposure and being good people. The finale program featured songs and performances that focused on the Golden Rule, The ABC’s of Philanthropy, Give Your Treasure, I Have a Dream, and Man in the Mirror.

I am here to tell you that kids can enjoy their summer, make friends and have lots of fun while being in a safe, healthy environment that stimulates their minds and provides them with opportunities to grow and thrive. This is the second year that Nya has attended the 100 Black Men summer camp and I look forward to her being able to attend for the next seven years.