SOUTHWEST RANCHES, Fla. – On this week’s Mom to Mom, Local 10’s Nicole Perez explored a South Florida summer camp helping to bridge the gap to help kids have a fun summer experience.
A camp funded by the Jordan Family Foundation at Archbishop McCarthy High School is providing six weeks of fun and it includes all kinds of sports and STEM programs.
Christopher Parker is the Camp Director and once a recipient of the foundation. He says the Bridging the Gap Summer Camp has everything you can think of for nearly 400 six to ninth graders.
“We have sports programs, a wide variety of soccer, volleyball, to golf, to you name it,” said Parker.
Parker says the goal for the summer is to reach as many kids as possible and help them break out of their shell.
“We try to open it up to all of these kids just to give them that experience and the broaden their horizons and just give them an idea of what life is actually like outside of their neighborhood,” said Parker.
The free six-week-long camp means a lot to families, but for mother Mathilde Alvarez, it means giving her daughter the fire she always dreamed of.
“It’s a privilege to have that opportunity because having that program alleviated that financial burden on us. I’m originally from Haiti, so due to the political unrest, we were forced to leave Haiti,” said Alvarez.
Alvarez’ daughter Daniella attended the camp from 6-9 grade, and while it took time to adapt, Alvarez told Nicole that the school and the staff made them feel like they found a new home.
“Being a foreigner and being in an environment that you can’t quite call home yet, it was a peace of mind as a parent knowing that she was welcome, she was loved, and she was comfortable,” said Alvarez.
Alvarez said she has made it a priority to make sure her daughter understands the opportunity she has been given.
“She understands living in Haiti for five years where you were kind of harassed by poverty every day. For us to be here because of her grades, her academics, and also to have people who want to invest in other children, I can’t find a word to express how grateful I am, how blessed, and I remind her every day, it’s a privilege,” said Alvarez.
Daniella Destin has attended the camp for three years and now she is a volunteer.
“I’m going be tutoring some kids. I also want to be a counselor because I know what it’s like to be a kid that doesn’t have the skills to talk to other people, and I want them to know that it’s not that hard. Like I can introduce them to people give them that opportunity too,” said Destin.
Destin said the camp made her happy and she wants to help the students be more comfortable making new friends.
“I was just very upset when I first came here, you know didn’t have many friends. Once I came to summer camp it included me in everything else, when I used to be the one secluded. So being included really made me feel happy and over the years as I grew, I made more friends. It really just its having friends is just what makes me happy,” said Destin.
Transportation, meals and Friday field trips are also included in this free summer camp at Archbishop McCarthy. The camp will be accepting applications for next year’s camp soon.
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