Council Update: Summer camp scholarships benefit PBC youth, families
About 4,200 Palm Beach County children swam, played, learned and explored at camp last summer thanks to scholarships funded by Children’s Services Council and the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners (Youth Services Department), CSC staff told the board at its March meeting. CSC provided about 81 percent of the total $5.02 million invested in scholarships.
To be eligible for a scholarship, children’s families had to meet certain financial criteria. Children also were eligible if, for example, they were diagnosed with a special need, were unhoused, participants in specific CSC programs or involved in the juvenile or child welfare systems. In all, 78 percent of the more than 6,300 applications received were awarded scholarships.
Children could attend one of 94 camps, which had been vetted by the county’s Youth Services Department. The majority were traditional summer camps, while 22 were educational enrichment camps, 13 were specialty camps and 4 were camps for children with special needs.
In other business
GII Funding: The Council approved repurposing up to $1 million in under expenditures for Great Ideas Initiatives (GII) grants. The application for grassroots nonprofits to apply for GII will be released this spring. Since 2016, CSC has invested more than $5.1 million in 150-plus local nonprofits with operating budgets of less than $1 million through GII.
Summer Camp Funding: The Council approved up to $1.5 million in repurposed under expenditures for summer camp scholarships, making a total of up to $4.5 million from CSC available for camp scholarships this coming summer.
Read for the Record: In February, CSC staff participated in the 20th Anniversary of Read for the Record, a campaign led by the Literacy Coalition, with the featured book See Marcus Grow. CSC staff partnered with Jumpstart and the Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County to ensure this year’s event was a success. Staff volunteered by reading at local elementary schools to a total of 584 children, with locations ranging from Boca Raton to Jupiter – all on one special day! These efforts reflect our ongoing commitment to promoting literacy and fostering a love of reading among children in our community.
Cigna Healthy Workforce Designation: Each year, Cigna Healthcare® recognizes organizations that demonstrate a strong commitment to improving the health and vitality of their workforce.
This year, CSC earned the highest honor, the Gold level Cigna Healthy Workforce Designation, for dedication to employee well-being. Thanks to these efforts, our employees are healthier, more engaged, and more productive.