When you think about summer, you probably picture fun and relaxation. Here at Gwen’s Girls, we see a season of empowering girls ages 8-13, through gender-specific programs, education and experiences.
Our programs ensure our girls don’t fall victim to the summer slide. According to the National Summer Learning Association, when the school year ends, children in high-poverty environments struggle not only with basic needs like healthy food and safe places to spend their days but with losing precious time during the summer months to continue their learning.
The cumulative effect is a crisis in the making: summer learning loss can leave low-income students two-and-a-half to three years behind their peers. Students who fall behind over the summer are less likely to graduate from high school or go on to college.
Since summer brings hours of unstructured activity, Gwen’s Girls creates opportunities for summer learning and sets the stage for innovation, creativity, and leadership. Each year, Gwen’s Girls develops the curriculum for Camp Destiny, the eight-week summer camp, around a theme that addresses the Four Life Domains. Previous themes included Health & Wellness, approached from a cross-cultural perspective focused on a variety of wellness workshops and fun, healthy activities, and Civic and Cultural Awareness, which gave girls an opportunity to advance their principles of leadership and culture and experience active learning and community service.
Of course, what would a summer camp be without the usual summer favorites? Girls took trips to local attractions, such as Kennywood, Sandcastle, the Bathhouse Ceramics studio and Highland Park for fishing.
Click here to learn more about our afterschool and summer learning programs.