Summer is a time for families to connect, for backyard BBQ's and fun in the sun. But for working families summer also means having to find new ways to stretch their budget even farther. With children out of school, grocery bills increase and childcare costs skyrocket. Families living paycheck to paycheck are often left with choosing between paying mortgage or childcare, between medical care and keeping the utilities on, or between groceries and gas. To ensure no child is left home alone and no parent is left with impossible choices Greater Gallatin United Way partnered with local school districts, other nonprofits and local businesses to provide an affordable, all day summer camp. A summer experience where kids can learn, grow and be safe all summer long.
This summer Greater Gallatin United Way's kidsLINK camp welcomed more than 255 kids in 4 summer camp programs for 350 hours of enriching, high-quality education that will help stabilize that summer slide in skills and provide a jump-start in preschoolers reading and social-emotional skills.
Every week of the Greater Gallatin United Way kidsLINK summer camp was themed around kid-friendly topics, using Legos, robotics, STEM activities, crafts, music, math, language, and even mindfulness.
One of our Community Impact partners, Montana Mindfulness Project, taught three sessions at one of the kidsLINK camps with about 15 three to five year olds. The first two classes varied in success but their experienced and resourceful teacher brought a collection of seashells to the second session. She explained to the class that these shells were precious to her as she has collected them from all over the world. She then said: "If anyone throws them, damages them, or hurts themself or someone else, class will end. This personal sharing and strong directive immediately brought the campers to understand the teacher's need for respect and her kindness of sharing her precious keepsakes. The teacher then passed the basket and each child chose a seashell as their precious object while the teacher spoke of beauty in nature, and uniqueness and diversity of natural objects and our human selves. The campers were invited to use a shell as their breathing buddy. They laid down, put the shell on their belly, and using breath awareness entered a state of natural calm.
For the third class, the mindfulness teacher brought several musical instruments. As class began, one camper asked "How long is this class going to be?" But it didn't take long to change his mind, after two or three times playing different instruments the camper was laughing and exclaimed, "I don't want this to EVER stop."
Class continued for another 35 minutes as all the campers were deeply engaged with the transformational benefits of mindfulness as they were met by a teacher's kind attention, opening their natural capacity for wonder and magic.
At the end of class, one of the students said: "When I hear music it makes my heart dance."
All of the small and big moments our staff and campers shared this summer are just one of the reasons we are grateful to bring this critical resource to our community.
