What participants have said about DC SCORES summer camps

For the past 25 days, we've told you why you should support the Couch to Camp Campaign presented by kajeet.

We've impressed on you the importance of providing free soccer and arts camps for kids who aren't able to attend the regular camps many of us grew up with.

We've told you about how important it is for kids to keep their minds and bodies engaged during the summer months.

Yada, yada, yada.

But what do the kids think? Are DC SCORES' camps really as important as we make them out to be?

Well, over the past two years of offering these three camps, we've gotten the chance to ask some of the participants what they would be doing if not for DC SCORES summer camps.

Here's what they've had to say:

“I would probably just be at home sleeping and watching TV," said Jhoana H.

“Working with my dad, sleeping at home,” added Jorge S.

To make sure the kids weren't simply coming to camp because it was something they could do, we asked them about their experiences learning soccer skills, doing art projects and going on fields trips.

Did they really enjoy such things? Were they getting a lot out of the camps?

“It’s fun, athletic and it makes me stay healthy,” said 9-year-old Justin C.

“Because it’s fun,” 7-year-old Yao said simply, listing why he attended camp. “Because it’s soccer.”

“I never have second thoughts," Emily C. said last summer on a day when the temperature reached 100 degrees, "when it comes to summer camp."

Emily's brother Christian piped in: “It’s better than doing nothing at home. You’d just rather come outside and play in the heat.”

Even Charlie Z., who doesn't attend a DC SCORES school, showed up in the extreme heat to the camp -- no one is turned away from any of our camps.

“I think it’s really good because it teaches you a lot and it makes you work hard in the hot sun especially. So I think people who don’t know about this should come if they want to learn about soccer.”

Added Kara B. of Tubman Elementary School: “I like learning new things and knowing that I can get better at soccer going against middle schoolers."

So there you have it. This is just a small sampling and we can't guarantee that every camper has the same experience, but by and large the kids who show up on the first day of camp are still coming six weeks later, ready for a fresh project, a new field trip, or to learn a new skill on the soccer field.

And they all agree -- even in 90-plus degree heat plus the infamous DC humidity, being outside with peers learning cool stuff beats sitting in a house watching the tube.

If you can, please support this opportunity for over 200 kids. We think you know the details by now.

Help us reach the $10,00 goal. We're not far off. Visit the Couch to Camp website by March 31.

Thanks for your support!

Kajeet® Partners with DC SCORES to Present the 2012 Couch to Camp Campaign

Kajeet, the smart phone for kids™, joins forces with one of the 

largest nonprofit youth development organizations in Washington, DC 

to provide free soccer and arts camps for local kids.

Bethesda, MD (PRWEB) March 12, 2012

Kajeet®, the smart phone for kids™ and the only cell phone service provider in the U.S. to have won four parenting awards for excellence and safety, is pleased to announce its collaboration with DC SCORES on their 2012 Couch to Camp campaign. An affiliate and the flagship program of America SCORES, which strives to inspire urban youth to lead healthy lives, be engaged students and build character, DC SCORES provides after- school programs for over 800 low-income youth in Washington, DC at 27 schools. The Couch to Camp program will give approximately 200 kids the opportunity to attend summer camp for free. Kajeet will be matching all donations made to support Couch to Camp up to $5,000.

“Kajeet is thrilled to be partnering with DC SCORES on this year’s Couch to Camp initiative. Everything we do is about kids – keeping them safe, engaged and empowered. And DC SCORES has the same philosophy. We’re excited to help them reach – and exceed – this year’s goal and send as many kids to camp as possible,” said Daniel Neal, CEO and Founder of kajeet.

The Couch to Camp Campaign lasts throughout the month of March, with a goal of reaching $10,000 total in donations. Dollars generated for Couch to Camp will fund two soccer camps and one combined soccer and arts camp.

"We're so thankful that such a like-minded and innovative company is supporting our Couch to Camp Campaign! By leveraging this investment from kajeet, we will be able to fill serious gaps left in the summer for youth who may not have previously had the opportunity to participate in camps," said Amy Nakamoto, Executive Director of DC SCORES.

Kajeet makes communicating with cell phones and smartphones safe for kids, reassuring for parents and provides an affordable, contract-free option for everyone. In addition to kajeet’s free, patented online parental controls, all kajeet mobile devices are enabled with GPS Phone Locator, another easy-to-use service parents may use to monitor their child’s location on a map and/or by designated landmarks.

For people who believe in a well-rounded childhood, DC SCORES is the quality, team-based approach providing youth with the arts, athletics, and academics that will engage, enrich, and improve their lives. DC SCORES builds teams through after school programs for low-income DC youth by instilling self-expression, physical fitness, and a sense of community. DC SCORES accomplishes this in an innovative model combining poetry and spoken word, soccer, and service-learning year-round.

For more information about kajeet cell phones, smartphones, plans and safety features, please visit http://www.kajeet.com. To learn more about DC SCORES, please visit www.DCSCORES.org

Donate to the Couch to Camp campaign here: http://www.razoo.com/story/Couch-To-Camp-Campaign

About kajeet

Founded in 2003, kajeet, the smart phone for kids™, is based in Bethesda, Maryland, but kids are the center of our universe. Kajeet keeps parents talking with their children and teens with free online parental controls, family budgeting, GPS Phone Locator and kid-friendly features. With kajeet, there are no pesky contracts or surprise bills. Parents can find kajeet phones online at http://www.kajeet.com.

Kajeet also provides an affordable, safe, scalable solution to bring Internet-capable mobile learning devices to students everywhere. With a full suite of customizable online controls, kajeet’s education products leverage kajeet’s expertise in the classroom to provide students with a safe mobile learning experience. For more information about kajeet’s products for education, please visit http://www.KajeetforEducation.com.

Kajeet services are protected by U.S. Patent Numbers 7,881,697, 7,899,438, 7,945,238 and 8,078,140. Other U.S. patents are pending.

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Support DC SCORES summer camps through Couch to Camp Campaign

“It’s better than doing nothing at home. You’d just rather come outside and play in the heat.”

Those were the words of Tubman Elementary School’s Christian L. last summer, as he stood on the soccer field outside his school in high-90s degree heat.

They represented, however, the thoughts of hundreds of youth who had returned day after day, week after week to DC SCORES summer camp in the oppressive summer heat.

Each year, DC SCORES strives to host three FREE summer camps for ANY youth — DC SCORES poet-athlete or not — in the District who needs a positive, structured environment for the summer in which they can stay active physically, keep their mind engaged and fresh, and development relationships with peers and coaches.

This is why our Couch to Camp Campaign is so vital. Unlike our fall and spring programming, we don’t have a variety of funding sources to pay for over 200 kids to attend 10 weeks of camp, be fed lunch and snacks each day, and go on field trips to the Newseum, to Nationals games, and to the local pool. 

We’re counting on you, our individual supporters who believe in DC SCORES’ mission. With your help, we can continue to provide this critical opportunity for hundreds of children who, quite frankly, would otherwise be doing exactly as Christian said.

“... nothing at home.”

Thanks to our new partner kajeet, which sells the safest and most affordable smartphones for kids, every donation up to the $5,000 mark will be matched.

And that is when we will have reached our goal.

That is when we’ll be able to rest during March Madness, take a deep breath, and say, Thank you for keeping so many kids off the couch this summer.

$10,000

That’s the goal.

Here’s how you can help during our version of March Madness:

1. Simply visit the Couch to Camp website and choose any amount, remembering that a $25 donation really is $50 because of kajeet.

2. Also come to our Couch to Camp happy hour on Tuesday, March 20, at Lounge 201. There will be exciting items auctioned off, and it’ll be an excellent opportunity to learn more about DC SCORES and our summer camps.

3. Share this blog. Or post it to your Facebook profile. Or Retweet it. Or (fill in the blank) it. The more people know about how important this campaign is, the more attention it will get.

Finally, to illustrate just how disastrous a summer without our arts-enriching and soccer-learning camps can be for DC youth who don’t have the means to attend traditional summer camps, studies have shown the following:

• More than half of the achievement gap between lower- and higher-income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities. 

• Most children — particularly children at high risk of obesity —gain weight more rapidly when they are out of school during summer break.

— National Summer Learning Association, 2007

Let’s not let our kids become distressing statistics like these. Instead, let’s help keep them playing soccer, using their minds and working with their peers.

Exactly as they do during a regular DC SCORES season!

Donate here today.