The Sky's the Limit

Our program director Lauren is putting in long hours right now researching curriculum, arranging field trips and organizing scientific experiments for our summer camp. The theme for the summer is "Sky's the Limit" and the focus is flight technology. We know of at least one airplane-crazy 8-year-old boy who CAN'T WAIT to start. He is volunteering for every household chore he can think of to help his mom out and prove himself worthy of the $40 registration fee.

Our summer session is always a critical time for the kids we serve. The college interns who lead camp lavish the kids with love and attention. Our extended hours allow for more spiritual mentoring, more creative endeavors, more outdoor play AND more academic instruction. Last summer our students made significant progress in both skills and self-confidence, and we anticipate more of the same this year. But last week our planning took on added significance. On May 28th the school district announced they were canceling almost all summer school classes.

Normally the district would provide summer school instruction for 225,000 elementary and middle school students. Now these students' families are not only scrambling to find childcare, but losing the extra help that summer school provides for kids who are behind.

Sky's the Limit Summer Camp provides an alternative for 36 of the 225,000 children who just lost their summer school option. Lauren's phone is ringing frequently, and we are preparing to field far more applications than we have slots.

Here are some things you can pray for:
1) For God to guide and prepare our team of 6 interns from UCLA and Occidental College.
2) For God to provide all the volunteer help that Lauren is seeking for the summer.
3) For God to bring together the right group of kids. The specific things we hope for are: a) a solid mix of Black and Latino students, b) a group who will stick with our program through the coming academic year and c) a group that is tightly clustered geographically around our facility.
4) That God's people across the city would creatively serve and advocate for the children who need, and won't have access to, extra academic help this summer.

CAMP STARTS ON JUNE 29TH AND RUNS THROUGH JULY 31.