More Than Summer Camp

For kids, summer camp might mean swimming, hiking, crafts, sports, and long days with friends. For parents, it can mean something just as important: knowing their children have a safe, engaging place to spend the summer while they work.

That's why the Farmington Community Chest has helped local children attend camp for years through its Campership Program. This past summer, FCC provided $14,000 in campership assistance, helping 36 local children attend programs throughout the Farmington area — including those run by the YMCA, Farmington Parks & Recreation, Winding Trails, Camp Chase, and programs designed for children with special needs.

For some families, a campership gives a child an experience they couldn't otherwise afford. For others, it meets a need for the whole family. One local mother unexpectedly found herself raising three children alone after the tragic death of her husband. With both parents once working, the family had managed the cost and logistics of summer child care. Suddenly, she was trying to keep working while figuring out how to care for three kids through the long weeks when school was out.

FCC campership assistance made it possible for her children to attend camp. Her description of what that meant was simple: “We would not have made it through the summer without this campership.”

An Investment in Kids and Families

Summer child care can put real pressure on a household, especially one already navigating a job change, a loss, an illness or another unexpected turn. Camperships help close that gap while giving children something valuable of their own: days spent outdoors, trying new activities, seeing friends, building confidence and independence, and taking part alongside other kids in their community regardless of what's happening financially at home. For children with special needs, that assistance can also open the door to programs equipped to provide the support and accommodations they need.



That's why FCC sees camperships as more than a registration fee. They're about making sure local children have the chance to participate, play, and belong while giving their parents the support to keep working and caring for their families.

Thirty-six kids went to camp this year because our community made room for them. And sometimes, as one Farmington mom reminded us, that can change an entire family's summer.

A campership can mean a great summer for a child and a lifeline for a family. Help us give more Farmington kids that opportunity at farmcommchest.org/donate