While summer is often seen as a carefree time, for parents and other caregivers with young children, it can be anything but. Once school is out in June, many families struggle to secure reliable care for their children while they work. For low-income families, finding an affordable option may feel impossible.
Fortunately, more than 7,600 school-age children and youth across Greater Hartford will participate in summer learning programs this year, thanks to $824,350 in grants from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. The grants will support 36 programs, including reduced fee camperships as well as enrichment, tutorial and counselor-in-training programs. Many of these opportunities run from four to eight weeks, with shorter sessions available. The Hartford Foundation targets summer program funding to support Hartford youth, those with disabilities from throughout the Greater Hartford region, with opportunities that come at low or no cost to families. Following two summers of remote or hybrid activities, this year these programs are planning to be fully in person – providing young people the chance to step away from their screens to enjoy summer outside.
The Hartford Foundation has a long history of supporting summer programs, with grants dating back to the 1930s. More than $5 million has been awarded for these programs just in the last six years.
“Support for summer learning programs provides thousands of Hartford families with the opportunity to ensure that their children have a safe and enriching summer experience, while allowing parents and caregivers to continue working,” said Hartford Foundation Director of Community Impact Grantmaking Megan Burke. “Providing Hartford youth with the opportunity to participate in counselor-in-training programs also offers young people their first employment opportunity and financial support for themselves and their families.”
Foundation support for summer programs advances the Foundation’s interest in increasing employment opportunities for Black and Latinx residents, both through increased career exposure and employment skills for Hartford youth and by removing a barrier to employment for families through quality, reliable childcare. Summer programming for people with disabilities includes programming for youth and adults. In both cases, Foundation funding offers people with disabilities from low-income families an enriching experience that would otherwise not be affordable and provides respite to family caregivers who often juggle employment and full-time care for their loved ones.
In addition, older youth benefit from access to quality summer programming to mitigate summer learning loss, improve academic engagement, overall positive out-of-school/summertime structured activity. The Foundation summer program grants contribute to a range of programs to enhance their academic, social and emotional well-being. Partnerships with the 4-H Center at Auerfarm, Connecticut Science Center, Hartford Public Library and Goodwin University have made additional enrichment options accessible to the participants.
To assist families in applying for summer program opportunities, the Foundation awarded a grant to the Connecticut Afterschool Network to support the development of an updated 2022 Summer Program Directory, which can be found at www.ctyouthdirectory.org.
| Organization Name | Program Description | Award |
| 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm | Auerfarm Growing Opportunities for Career & Educational Development for High School Students with Special Needs and High School Students: Campership; counselor in training (CIT) and tutorial program provides workforce development skills in agriculture and small group tutorial science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) focused activities. | $36,000 |
Actup Theater
|
Actup Theater’s Arts Academy (ATAA) counselor in training (CIT) and Enrichment is a summer intensive arts education program that meets for 6 weeks to build writing, song, performance, and dance skills for youth ages 6 to 14. This program focuses on Hartford youth artists and is led by communities of color. | $30,000 |
| Almada Lodge-Times Farm Camp Corporation (Channel 3 Kids Camp)
|
Channel 3 Kids Camp 2022: Summer campership, counselor in training (CIT) program provides a care-free environment for a healthy summer of play, new friendships, and learning for children of all abilities for youth ages 8 to 18. | $26,500 |
| American School for the Deaf
|
American School for the Deaf’s Camp Isola Bella provides deaf and hard of hearing campers for youth ages 8 to 17, with a variety of recreational and educational activities fostering teamwork, enhanced communication, and cooperation. | $22,000 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Hartford
|
Summer Fun Club: Campership provides a comprehensive experience that will enable and empower youth participants to discover and develop their individual intellectual, social, and physical potential, as well as expose them to communal responsibilities. | $45,000 |
| Camp Courant
|
2022 Camp Courant Camperships: Provides a safe, exciting and educational environment in which Hartford’s youth, ages 5 to12, participate in active learning opportunities and fun activities focused on positive youth development and healthy lifestyle choices. | $45,000 |
| Catholic Charities | Summer Survivor at Milner, McDonough, and Parkville Schools: Campership programs will serve 60 Milner Middle School students and 60 McDonough Middle School students in grades 6 to 8, and 60 Parkville Community School students in grades 1 to 5. | $21,000 |
| Center for Latino Progress: CTPRF | Bikes & More: Campership offers a two-level, bilingual summer camp for Hartford youth ages 10 to 17. Beginners Camp (two 2-week sessions) for ages 10 to 14, and Advanced Camp (one 5-week session) for ages 13 to 17 in bike mechanics training, social emotional learning and career exploration development. | $40,000 |
| Center for Leadership and Justice | Adventures in the City Freedom School: 6-week campership and enrichment summer program for Hartford youth in kindergarten-third grade with emphasis on literacy through culturally relevant materials. | $36,000 |
| Connecticut Science Center | Science of Summer 2022: Enrichment program offers Science in Motion (outreach) program and the field trip program to increase children’s excitement about science. | $12,000 |
| [%0bhttps:/ct-kids.org%0d] ConnectiKids |
ConnectiKids Summer Program 2022: Campership and counselor in training (CIT) program provides children ages 6-18 with an integrated academic and enrichment experience based on a thematic curriculum during the summer months. | $36,000 |
| Ebony Horsewomen | Ebony Horsewomen Equine Assisted Growth, Learning, and Therapy Summer: Campership and counselor in training (CIT) programs engages campers ages 5 to 16 therapeutically and academically in areas of math, reading, animal science and technology, as well as social and emotional classes with horseback riding and other activities. | $15,500 |
| Futures, Inc. | Career Exploration and Employment Enrichment: 6-week tutorial program for individuals with disabilities ages 15 to 18 offers six learning modules that includes culinary arts, retail & merchandising, skilled trades, etc. | $30,000 |
| Girl Scouts of Connecticut
|
Summertime Opportunities for Girls in Hartford: Campership and enrichment day camp offers outdoor adventure to build life skills and half-day program serves Hartford youth. | $36,000 |
| Goodwin University | Manufacturing in Motion (MIM): Enrichment program offers mobile advanced manufacturing lab in Connecticut designed to introduce middle and high school students to manufacturing careers. | $10,000 |
| Harc, Inc. | Capable Kids: Free 6-week Summer Camp for Children with Intellectual and Related Disabilities campership program. | $20,000 |
| Hartford City Mission
|
Hartford City Mission Camp Noah: Campership and counselor in training (CIT) program offers STEM Enrichment, Arts and Crafts, Storytelling Enrichment, Digital Arts, Performing Arts and Leadership Training for Hartford youth in low income neighborhoods. | $10,000 |
| Hartford Friendship Kids’ Camp: Home
|
Say Yes to New Adventures: Campership and enrichment program serves ages 5 to 13 strengthening children in the academic, artistic, social, emotional domain | $16,500 |
| Hartford Neighborhood Centers
|
Camp Hi Hoti Enrichment Summer: Campership program provides outdoor programming that focuses on nature preservation for Hartford youth from the Frog Hollow neighborhood. | $13,000 |
| Hartford Public Library
|
Hartford Public Library’s Summer Literacy and STEM Enrichment Camp Program | $20,000 |
| Hartford Stage
|
Hartford Stage Summer Studio: Campership counselor in training (CIT) and enrichment program engages young artists ages 5-18 in theatre-based activities. | $25,000 |
| Hartford Youth Scholars
|
Summer 2022 at The Collegiate Academy campership: 5-week program for scholars to build a solid foundation in math, literature, writing, history and civics, science, and Spanish. | $10,000 |
| Hispanic Health Council | Mi Casa Summer campership: Summer program provides enrichment activities such as music and arts, drama, fashion and design, health and nutrition education and physical activity, with an emphasis on yoga and Zumba. | $15,000 |
| Horizons at The Ethel Walker School
|
Literacy Leaders Project: 6-week full-day literacy campership program help girls from underserved communities in Hartford improve their educational outcomes through year-round academic and athletic instruction, cultural enrichment opportunities, mentoring, and educational guidance. | $20,000 |
| Horizons, Inc. | Summer Camp 2022: An overnight one-week campership for participants with intellectual and developmental disabilities | $32,000 |
| Oak Hill
|
Camp Hemlocks: An overnight summer camp experience for Hartford youth with disabilities, ages 8-18 and adults. | $15,000 |
| Organized Parents Make a Difference
|
OPMAD Summer Fun 2022: Campership providing enrichment and academic remediation for children from Kindergarten through 8th grade at five Hartford Public school sites. | $40,000 |
| Real Art Ways
|
Park Art campership: Free-of-charge art-making activities for neighborhood youth in Hartford providing families childcare during afternoon hours. | $8,000 |
| Sankofa Kuumba Cultural Arts Consortium
|
Freedom, Emancipation, Cultural Arts and Agriculture Project: Campership offers cultural arts education programming to educate youth participants and encourage “Higher Order Thinking Strategies”. | $10,000 |
| Spectrum In Motion Dance Theater Ensemble | Instruments of Culture and Dance & Anthropology: campership and counselor in training (CIT) program offers curriculum and choreography informed by a children’s book. | $17,750 |
| The Salvation Army
|
The Salvation Army Summer Camp Opportunities campership offers six weeks of academic enrichment programming, and Camp CONNRI in Ashford, CT, serving inner city youth, provides a 5-day, 4-night residential camping experience. | $30,000 |
| Trinity College
|
Dream Camp at Trinity College: Counselor in training (CIT) program is a paid leadership opportunity for low-income 15-17 year old youth providing learning opportunities designed to promote, nurture, and encourage personal growth, develop leadership, and provide valuable first work opportunities and mentorship. | $12,600 |
| Watkinson School | SPHERE Summer Program: Campership, counselor in training (CIT) and tutorial five-week enrichment program for Hartford students between 1st and 5th grade. | $11,500 |
| West Indian Foundation
|
West Indian Foundation Summer Enrichment Program: 4-week day camp offering free extracurricular engagement with the arts, music, dance, and the outdoors for Hartford-area youth. | $12,000 |
| YMCA of Metropolitan Hartford
|
Hartford YMCA Day campership and counselor in training (CIT) offers age-appropriate activities based on literacy, history, physical activity and social-emotional growth and project based learning for CIT youth. | $25,000 |
| YWCA Hartford Region
|
Young Women’s Leadership Corps (YWLC) Summer Institute: Provides Greater Hartford teen girls ages 13 to 18 from the opportunity to develop and master leadership, advocacy, college and career, and civic engagement skills. YW School Age Summer Youth: Free campership program for Hartford children ages 5 to 12. | $20,000 |
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for Hartford and 28 surrounding towns. Through partnerships, the Foundation seeks to strengthen communities in Greater Hartford by putting philanthropy in action to dismantle structural racism and achieve equity in social and economic mobility. Made possible by the gifts of generous individuals, families and organizations, the Foundation has awarded grants of more than $894 million since its founding in 1925. For more information, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.