KeepKidsSafeSummerCampFund

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Keep Kids Safe Summer Camp

Thank you for wanting to learn more about the Keep Kids Safe Summer Camp (KKSSC).

"An end to violence. The opportunity to be a kid." This is the KKSSC’s message. Our goal is to give youth, ages 9-13 living in Philadelphia, who have been impacted or affected by violence in our communities, an opportunity to experience the joy of a traditional summer camp, while having fun in a safe environment. While engaging in traditional summer camp activities - swimming, arts & crafts, hiking and sports - participants also develop social and coping skills to help with their decision making at home, school and in their neighborhoods.

Considered the gem of the Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia, the KKSSC provides a free one-week experience to Philadelphia youth ages 9-13 who have been affected or impacted by violence in our communities. This year, the camp will be held at two new locations: Paradise Farm (Downingtown, PA) from Sunday, August 10th – Friday, August 15th and Diamond Ridge Conference Center (Jamison, PA) from Sunday, August 17th – Friday, August 22nd.

Youth may attend ONE encampment, which is six days and five nights. Transportation is included.

The camp is also an opportunity for participating families to get additional support or services throughout the year. Families are required to participate in orientations and the closing camp celebration.

This year, several of last year’s participants, too old to return, will be employed through YouthWorks via Nu Sigma Youth Services.

Robert Moore, age 11, learned chess at camp. He said, “Chess is very interesting. It makes you think. It also shows you that you must look all around you before you make a move or you can loose your pieces and get in Check. Chess is similar to real life. If one is not careful and don't watch were he is going, there could be all kinds of traps he can get into (fights, gangs, drugs), and possibly this could lead to Check Mate!!!”

Montana Logan, age 12, said, “My mother asked me to go to camp, because she said it was about helping kids get out of their neighborhood and away from violence. I met some great friends and learned a lot of things, how not to get mad every time something does not go my way.”

KKSSC is a program of the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition (GPUAC). It is co-managed by Nu Sigma Youth Services, Inc. (NSYS) and the Philadelphia Anti-Drug/Anti-Violence Network (PAAN), and supported by State Rep. Dwight Evans and the Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Patricia Kind Family Foundation. In 2007, over 60 individuals donated $11,635 to the camp through ad placements in The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.

Over the past four years, nearly 500 youth have attended the Camp. Most of the participants have come from some of the Philadelphia’s most challenging areas. Many had never attended an overnight camp before. For some, this was their first opportunity to leave the City of Philadelphia.

The Camp was started by the Philadelphia Branch NAACP in 2004, following the shooting death of Faheem Thomas-Childs at T.M. Peirce Elementary School. Founding partners were Pennsylvania State Representative Dwight Evans, Philadelphia Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition (GPUAC) and Philadelphia Citizens for Children & Youth (PCCY).

For more information, contact Brandon Brown, Director of Youth & Family Services (Nu Sigma Youth Services), 215-851-1755; bbrown@gpuac.org.