“Fun in the Sun” Summer Camp Program makes a Splash in Santa Barbara County
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — School’s out for summer, but the hands-on learning continues at United Way’s “Fun in the Sun” program.
Part of that includes summer safety lessons.
“We want them to be safe from the sun because we've seen really bad burns. And not only is it something that can be bad this time of their life, but cumulatively, over time it can cause skin cancers,” said Cottage Hospital Volunteer, Carol Stewart.
The kids get to enhance their literacy and math skills, go on field trips, and take part in hands-on activities designed to teach science, engineering, art and more.
“I really like STEAM because we get to do, like arts and crafts and we get to paint a lot. We get to build a lot, too,” said 4th Grader Sofia Cruz.
On Tuesday, the kids at one of the Santa Barbara locations got free vision and hearing tests.
“Kids sometimes will sit up close and they're not really understanding the assignments. And people will think that there's something wrong with their intellect when in fact they just can't hear or see properly. So it's nice to pick that up early before it becomes a problem, especially in those early years where they're learning how to read,” said Carol Stewart.
A huge highlight for the kids on Tuesday was getting to choose pool goodies including a bathing suit, towel, hoodie, and accessories.
“This year we tried jean shorts. We'd never done that before. We usually do bike shorts and those have been really popular,” said Community Friends of Santa Barbara Volunteer, Pam Greben.
The new outfits will come in handy for the swimming lessons and biking lessons instructors have planned.
“There's not a lot of opportunities for students in these communities to keep up their academic skills, to play with their friends, to go to field trips, things like that. So fun in the sun is stepped up. It's almost 30 years now of this program here in Santa Barbara, which is exciting to help provide that safe space for the kids,” said Marina Hudgens from United Way of Santa Barbara County.
The “Fun in the Sun” program has launched at 5 sites — 2 are in Santa Barbara, and the rest are in Carpinteria, Goleta, and Solvang.
More than 300 kids are enrolled in the free program.
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