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49 Days of Fun

Summer camp for our school age program children provided many opportunities for fun and excitement. For 49 days, a busload of 80 children left Plumley Village to travel daily to Treasure Valley, Mohegan Council's Boy Scout Reservation. Each day was packed with activities including swimming, arts and crafts, nature walks, recreation activities, scavenger hunts, and nutritious meals. Our camp cook, Brenda Marengo, returned for the second year and once again did a wonderful job.

In addition to the daily activities, the children were exposed to a fun field trip every Friday. The summer started with our annual trip to Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire. This amusement park is an exciting experience as it is not as crowded as other parks. The children all had the opportunity to experience the different rides without long lines. For children of that age (5-13), what is a summer experience without a trip to the amusement park!

One of the children's favorite field trips each summer is our annual trip to Scarborough Beach. The children love the water and they get an opportunity to just be "kids". They played in the sand, buried staff, and received lessons from our lifeguards on "how to ride the waves." We also took two trips to State Parks (Hopkinton and Douglas) where the children were given guided tours by the park rangers. One of the favorite trips for the older children and staff was our trip to Old Sturbridge Village. To go back into the 1800's and experience life as it was in that time period was a great learning experience on how to value what the children have now. The most unique trip for the children this summer was our private charter boat trip in Boston Harbor. The Rainbow children felt like kings and queens. They were the only people on the cruise ship. They were able to walk around the boat and enjoy the wonderful sea air. When we docked we were at Georges Island. The children were able to get off the boat and walk around the fort located on the island.

Each summer the children work hard for 5 weeks to put on a show for their parents. Professionals from the Performing Arts School of Worcester came out to camp to teach the children dance, music, and theater arts. The theme for this year's show was SHREK. The children put in endless hours of hard work to ensure that the show was a great hit. Over 150 parents, siblings, aunts and uncles attended the show, held at the Performing Arts School. This program allows the children the opportunity to be exposed to a variety of performing arts activities. It also gives them the chance to demonstrate their talents.
We are very grateful to Allmerica for providing grant funds to support this incredible program.

A special thanks goes to the staff members that made this summer a great success. Through their efforts, children learned to swim, build their self confidence, enjoy the country and just have "fun." Their dedication and hard work gave the children 49 days to enjoy an exciting, safe and positive learning environment.

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