As I write this, 39 children have enrolled in the Adventures Ahead Summer Science Camp. Six college interns have assumed their roles as teachers, coaches, counselors, mentors, confidantes, and resident Earth Science experts.

These students will spend the next six weeks living in our neighborhood and making Science Camp a challenging, nurturing, academically empowering experience for all 39 of these kids. Our director, Lauren, has planned a full slate of experiments and activities around this year’s theme of Earth Science. The kids
will learn about volcanoes, earthquakes, oceanography, habitats and more. They will visit museums, practice literacy, math & computer skills daily.

For the second year in a row, Los Angeles Unified School District has canceled its summer school programs. Parents who want educational experiences for their kids over the summer are having a hard time finding it. The situation is especially dire for those students who ended the school year behind in one or more subjects. If these kids don’t get some focused help to catch up, they will undoubtedly fall even further behind next fall. Adventures Ahead offers them, as well as their higher-achieving classmates, the kind of nurturing attention that calls out every student’s unique talents and best efforts.

The cost of running our summer program is $75 per child. This number is low because of generous landlords who provide our facility rent-free, generous support from USC faculty and staff through the USC Good Neighbors Campaign, local church members who prepare and donate fifty sack lunches a day, and energetic college interns who have raised support so they can spend their summer serving in our community. Having seen our kids’ smiles, their wonder, and their “aha moments” over the last eleven summers, we think $75 is one of the best bargains you will ever find.

Would you consider sponsoring one of our students this summer? You can make a gift on-line at www.redeemercp.org and join the symphony of generous giving that makes summer camp happen year after year.

Richard Parks

Executive Director

Redeemer Community Partnership