Sarah Mills: Summer is a chance to be a kid again
Sarah Mills says summer camps mean kids disconnect for a while, learn to make friends without sending a text and gain a ...
The YMCA of Saskatoon is kicking off an ambitious fundraising drive.
The group is seeking $130,000 in donations for its Strong Kids initiative.
Strong Kids helps families in need cover the costs of memberships and programming.
L.J. Veszi, 21, said he practically grew up in YMCA programs before becoming a camp counsellor, karate instructor and co-ordinator of the before and after-school care programs.
He said he’s seen firsthand how programs can help kids overcome challenges, crediting his involvement with helping him through his own struggle with depression.
“Even a child that has those struggles, those obstacles – when they get put into these programs, very quickly, (their problems don’t) make a difference,” he said.
Veszi said classes teach skills like swimming, or karate, but they also help develop good citizens. He said Strong Kids helps ensure that no child is excluded.
“You can have kids that are from the highest highs and the lowest lows, and they would still be best friends by the end of the programming,” he said.
More information on the Strong Kids program is available at the YMCA website.
