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CREC Receives 100 Full Scholarships to Camp Jewell YMCA, Shares with Hartford Public Schools and Community
(Hartford, CT) The Capitol Region Education Council announced that Camp Jewell YMCA, a branch of the Greater Hartford YMCA, has provided CREC with 100 full scholarships to their summer program this year. For the past three years, Camp Jewell has allocated 50 of these scholarships to CREC students, providing them with the opportunity to attend the traditional, overnight summer camp free of charge. Camp Jewell YMCA decided to double that number this year. However, not all of the scholarships are going to CREC students; CREC is sharing 25 scholarships with Hartford Public Schools and 10 with community organizations. Approximately 30 of the students participating in the summer camp and their parents will visit the camp on Saturday, May 6, 2017 to become familiar with the grounds and volunteer in a cleanup.
“We are very grateful to Camp Jewell for their generosity in providing our students an enriching and unforgettable summer experience,” said CREC Executive Director Greg J. Florio. “Given that many organizations and agencies across the state are struggling financially, it seems only right that we extend some of that generosity to our neighbors at Hartford Public Schools and members of our community.”
“We thank Camp Jewell and CREC for opening up more opportunities for Hartford students. Keeping our children engaged during the summer months is essential to their learning and social development,” said Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, Superintendent of Hartford Public Schools.
“Our goal with the program is not only to provide the opportunity for kids to have access to the camp that they may not have had otherwise, but we also want to diversify our camp so that it is more representative of the Greater Hartford community that we are a part of,” said Ray Zetye, Executive Director of Camp Jewell YMCA. “The opportunity isn’t just for the kids from CREC schools. The opportunity is also for the kids, who have been coming here, to experience a more diverse population. It’s a win, win.”
Approximately 1,300 kids from Greater Hartford to Fairfield County, as well as China, Spain and the Dominican Republic, participate in the residential camp program each year. The program runs four two-week sessions between June and August. Campers between the ages of 7 and 16 practice archery, swimming, basketball, boating, arts and crafts, theater, outdoor cooking, and other traditional camp activities. Another goal of the program is to facilitate friendships among the campers. The cost per child is $1,700. About 450 scholarships are offered each year, including those offered to CREC. Anyone interested in supporting this effort, please contact Eric Crawford at the CREC Trude Mero Family Resource Center at (860)244-9358 or ecrawford@crec.org.
