YMCA + Good Friends = Happy Campers!

Good Friends Summer Programming Report: August 2018 YWCA Central Carolinas is grateful for the ongoing support of Good Friends. This summer, Good Friends made it possible for 5 students in K-5th grade to attend YWCA’s 9-week, full-day summer programming in Mecklenburg County. YWCA youth programs provide year-round academic support for over 345 elementary school students living in ten economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in Mecklenburg and Union Counties – including the nine weeks of summer. Due to funding cuts, once summer programming ended, we closed one of our Mecklenburg youth learning centers which leaves us with nine centers. Summer programming, however, was offered at all ten.Children attended summer programs at YWCA from 9 am to 4 pm for nine weeks this summer. For YWCA students, the summer is an opportunity for extended education. With your support, these children were able to avoid the summer learning “slide.” Two-thirds of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be attributed to unequal access to summer learning opportunities.In addition to YWCA’s daily use of guided reading programs using the instruction and assessment tool, iReady, community partners like the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, the Hornets Book Bus and Promising Pages join in with YWCA’s activities to make reading fun and exciting.While still focusing on reading and parent engagement, extended program hours during the summerallow for more time to plan and take longer field trips and enjoy fun extracurricular activities. Oftentimes, centers will choose a theme to build their programming around and will weave in literacy projects, field trips and activities around that theme. This summer, one of our centers used a SuperHeroes theme that included lessons like “Every Hero Has a Sidekick: the importance of being a teamplayer,” “Unlikely Heroes: humility and meekness can lead one to greatness,” and “Heroes Fly High: apositive attitude and behaviors lead to success.” Field trips at this center included a trip to the Schiele Museum, going to see a movie at Phillips Place Movie Theatre, and going to a local senior living facility to visit seniors and play literacy games. The Hornets Book Bus also made a trip to a number of ourcenters, where the kids met Hugo the Hornet and picked books from the book bus. Please see attached photos of an example of just some of the fun learning that was had this summer!