Summer Funding

Over 15,000 area youth, seniors and persons with disabilities enjoyed summer camping experiences during 2008 thanks to more than $1million in grants from the Hartford Foundation.

The Foundation awarded $771,000 to support 71 campership, tutorial and counselor-in-training programs.  Additionally, the Foundation awarded more than $332,000 to Capital Workforce Partners to provide summer employment, largely in nonprofit settings, to Hartford youth ages 14 to 16. 

The Foundation has invested in summer programs since the mid-1960s to respond to the need to keep school-aged youth safe and engaged in programming during the summer, including offering work experience and stipends for older youth.  Research documents the importance of engaging youth during the summer to promote enrichment and continued learning and development.

“The programs supported by the Hartford Foundation represent a substantial majority of the summer enrichment options available to low-income youth, seniors and disabled populations in the region,” said Judy McBride, program officer.

The summer programs offer a broad range of activities to respond to varying interests of participants and community needs.  Many of the summer programs are long-standing, with over 70 percent of the agencies having provided their programs for 10 or more years.

Many youth regularly attend the programs.  Providers report a high rate of returning participants from year to year (47 percent) and high average daily attendance (87 percent). 

Some other highlights:

• There were 57 day camps and 14 residential programs.  Eleven of those programs specifically served children and adults with special needs or senior citizens.
• Foundation funding supported roughly 3,680 scholarships or reduced fees.
• Forty-eight campership programs served more than 14,000 youth and adults.
• Fifteen agencies conducted counselor-in-training programs, sponsoring a total of 166 positions that offered youth a first-work experience as they supported staff in implementing summer program activities.
• Eight tutorial programs provided academic enrichment to 1,110 youth.  Many of the programs use specialized curriculum.  Five of the eight programs operated independently from school district summer school programs, offering opportunities to students not currently served by the summer school programs.
• Capital Workforce Partners provided over 1,700 summer jobs to youth through the Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program.

The organizations that recieved funding in 2008 are:

4-H Education Center at Auer Farm
Almada Lodge-Times Farm Camp Corporation
American School for the Deaf
The ARC of Greater Enfield, Inc.
The Artists Collective, Inc.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford, Inc.
Camp Horizons, Inc.
Capital Workforce Partners
Capitol Region Education Council
Catholic Charities, Inc.
Center for Urban Research, Education and Training, Inc.
Charter Oak Cultural Center
Christian Activities Council
City Slickers
COMPASS Youth Collaborative
Connecticut Pre-Engineering Program, Inc.
ConnectiKids, Inc.
Cultural Dance Troupe of the West Indies
Easter Seals Connecticut, Inc.
Ebony Horsewomen, Inc.
Girl Scouts of Connecticut, Inc.
Hands On Hartford
HARC, Inc.
Hartford Children's Theatre, Inc.
Hartford Conservatory
Hartford County 4-H Camp, Inc.
Hartford Friendship Kids' Camp
Hartford Hospital - Institute of Living
Hartford Neighborhood Centers, Inc.
Hartford's Camp Courant
HFPG, Inc.
Holcomb Farm Learning Center, Inc.
Mandell Jewish Community Center
Mi Casa Family Service & Educational Center, Inc.
Organized Parents Make A Difference
Our Piece of the Pie
Real Art Ways, Inc.
The Salvation Army of Greater Hartford
The Shelter for Women, Inc.
Talcott Mountain Science Center for Student Involvement, Inc.
Trinity College
United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Hartford
The Village for Families & Children, Inc.
Voluntown Peace Trust
Watkinson School
The West Indian Foundation, Inc.
YMCA of Metropolitan Hartford, Inc.