For the past 34 years, the Sudbury Manitoulin Children's Foundation has been sending disadvantaged children to summer camp through its Send-A-Kid To Camp Program — 16,000 kids have participated to date.
These children wouldn't otherwise get a chance to experience summer camp, as their parents couldn't afford it, said Anne Salter Dorland, executive director of the foundation.
“A lot of times these kids don't have anything else to look forward to in the summertime,” she said.
“Their parents normally can't afford to do anything with them, so they don't often leave the confines of their housing projects. Oftentimes they're stuck at home, doing nothing, sometimes unsupervised.”
Attending summer camp gives them a chance to grow as an individual, learning independence and new skills, and making new friends.
“A lot of these friends they make, they become lifelong friends and continue outside of just going to camp,” Salter Dorland said.
Besides subsidizing camp fees, which are about $500 per child, the Send-A-Kid To Camp Program loans sleeping bags to those needing one, provides transportation to and from overnight camps and provides other camper necessities (such as sunscreen and bug spray).
The children are referred to the Sudbury Manitoulin Children's Foundation through social service agencies — this year, the foundation received referrals of 722 kids aged five to 14.
Unfortunately, 125 of these kids are still on a waiting list. The foundation has raised $135,000 for the Send-A-Kid To Camp Program this year, about two-thirds of what it needs.
These children will stay on the wait list until there is either a cancellation of a camper already placed in a camp, a donation of a camp spot from a participating camp or additional monetary donations to the foundation.
Anyone who's interested in making a donation to the Send-A-Kid To Camp Program is asked to visit www.smcf.com or phone 705-673-2227.
