So What Else Summer 2021 – A Success!
That’s a wrap! Last week was the final week of our 2021 summer camp season. After a challenging 18 months, we are grateful for the community support that helped us provide summer camp programming and nutrition to over 1,350 children. In total, we provide 48 individual weeks of camp at locations across Washington DC, Baltimore, and Montgomery County.
This summer was full of adventure! Campers from Silver Spring learned how to express themselves through art and meditation. Campers from Rockville learned how to make healthy snacks and stretched it out at yoga. DC campers got to explore musical arts and gardening. Our Baltimore campers cleaned up their community and explored a new sport – archery!
All So What Else campers receive a full day of comprehensive support, fun, and learning. Campers have access to healthy foods, take part in recreational programming, learn healthy forms of self-expression, participate in gardening, and get the chance to just play in a safe environment. This summer, we implemented more STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) activities at our camps.
Most importantly, our campers participate and learn the importance of giving back through hands-on projects like community clean-ups or making sandwiches to donate to neighbors in need. In total, our students achieved approximately 2,000 student service-learning hours!
This summer was also the kickoff of our merge and partnership with Project Change. Students in our newest Project Change program, Team of Stars, created and performed an original musical theatre production called Gen Z: Kids in Charge.
Discover what a day in the life of a So What Else camper is here.
Summer Food Assistance
This summer, we continued our mission to help feed underserved communities and families who continue to be impacted by the pandemic. Our Baltimore food recovery team provided 3,100 plus meals a week to the Delmarva area, including 17,000 meals in Baltimore City, 1,600 meals in Howard County, 4,100 meals in PG county, and 5,000 meals in Baltimore County through 14 regular distributions in the city. Rockville and DC 150,000 meals a week.
In total, we provided 1.7 million meals this summer.
Special Thanks
Thanks to our community partners and volunteers, we are able to provide our summer camp programming and meal assistance free of cost for families. Special thanks to our food partners Mamma Lucia, Mighty Meals, and Costco for helping us provide lunch and nutrition for our campers. Thank you to Mid City Financial, Alice and Eugene Ford Foundation, The Bender Foundation, and the Collaboration Council of Montgomery County.
Special shout out to our staff and volunteers for making this the best summer yet despite the challenges!
Every child deserves access to quality out-of-school time programming, regardless of their income level. No family should have to go hungry due to the lingering economic impacts of COVID-19. Your continued support will help us gear up for our after-school fall season and continue to provide essential nutrition assistance.
Invest in the well-being of local children today.
