Participants in the A Child's Place summer program hosted by Johnson C. Smith
Charlotte, NC – Johnson C. Smith University hosted the swimming portion of the My Place eight-week summer day camp for rising first to sixth graders sponsored by A Child's Place (ACP) organization. The swimming sessions concluded on Thursday, July 29th, but the camp which began on June 14th will draw to a close on August 6th.
For the last day in the pool, A Child's Place worked with Swim Mac to have some swimmers from the USA Olympic Team (including 4x100m freestyle relay U.S. gold medalist
Cullen Jones) come speak and provide some tips for being in the water to the ACP students. SwimMAC Carolina is a USA Swimming competitive swim club located in Charlotte, North Carolina. SwimMAC Carolina offers not only a nationally recognized competitive swim program, but a variety of other swim programs geared towards the recreational and fitness swimmer.
This is the fifth year that A Child's Place has offered this important program, which runs five days a week. For kids who don't have a real place to call home, there's simply no better place than My Place.
This program ensures that the end of the school year will not mean the end of stable learning environment for 50 ACP client students.
With no permanent residence, homeless children often stop going to school. Without the influence and stability of a classroom environment, these children lose more than a chance to learn. They also lose the crucial sense of belonging gained from interacting with friends and other students. However through A Child's Place there is hope and help for these children. Founded in 1989, A Child's Place is a collaborative effort between the Charlotte, NC community and Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS).
Each camp day is packed with instruction, interaction and lively summer fun. Three hours of daily academics help students retain and improve their skills as they explore a variety of themes such as animals, the arts, science, sports, community, literature and nutrition. ACP kids also benefit from weekly field trips to places like Reed Gold Mine, Reedy Creek, Ray's Splash Planet, ImaginOn and Cane Creek.
“With all the hard work, effort, and value involved, these are the type of programs that need to be publicized,” said JCSU athletics director #Stephen Joyner, Sr.# “So many times negative stories make it to the media, but programs such as A Child's Place, Swim Mac, and their personnel are heroes in the local community and we're (JCSU) honored to be associated with this organization. Hopefully, we can work with them again in the near future.”
For the homeless students who are in need of extra support in order to achieve academic success, food, clothing, personal hygiene products and school supplies are distributed. Volunteer professionals provide medical, dental and counseling services. Volunteer tutors and "lunch buddy" mentors also offer academic and emotional support to children coping with stress, fear and other emotions resulting from homelessness. Scholarships to after school programs accommodate working parents' schedules and enrich learning experiences.
For more information on the A Child's Place organization or the My Place program, please visit
http://www.achildsplace.org.
