Super summer camps

Children, Youth & Families

Camperships support hundreds of kids each year.

The Winnipeg Foundation’s Camperships Program empowers youth through education and opportunity by supporting access to sleep-away and day camps, and to special summer programming. The camperships fund has granted more than $3.6 million since its inception in 2009.

To make a gift to the camperships fund, head to wpgfdn.org/give


Art City

Photos courtesy of Art City.

Josh Ruth, Managing Director of Art City, was leading a youth workshop in the North End recently when a curious girl approached him and asked what they were doing.

“She came back with her sketchbook and started showing me all of her drawings,” Ruth says. “She said, ‘There’s no real art instruction on the reserve’ [where she was from].”

After speaking with her mother, Ruth invited the girl to check out Art City’s programming.

“At first she was shy, but by the end of the day she already made some friends and was smiling,” Ruth says. “She came back almost every day and when summer came to an end, she cried and talked about how she would miss everybody.”

Located in the West Broadway neighbourhood and offering programming in various locations throughout Winnipeg, Art City delivers free summer programming in the form of Green Art, a drop-in program focused on environmental engagement for young people aged six to 14; and ARTsquad, a registered program for participants aged 10 to 15.

“Kids are engaged from a very young age in positive ways of learning to express themselves,” Ruth says. “It teaches them tools that are transferable into so many areas of life.”

Recipient: Art City
Program: Green Art Workshops
Grant(s): $7,500, drawn from the Camperships Fund and from the Jill Leggett Children’s Charities Endowment Fund


West Broadway Youth Outreach

Photos courtesy of West Broadway Youth Outreach.

“Why am I here reading? It’s the summertime, and it’s 8 a.m. in the morning.”

This is the sentiment of many students when starting summer programs at West Broadway Youth Outreach (WBYO), says the charity’s Assistant Director, Loana Valdez. But that changes as the summer goes on. “The same students kept coming back week after week looking for recommendations on a next book.”

WBYO offers free recreational and life skills summer programming every weekday. The program, which includes a literacy component, is focused on providing underserved inner-city youth with opportunities for diverse experiences outside their neighbourhoods, including trips to the zoo, Fun Mountain, museums, the Fringe Festival, art studios, camping, and more.

“These opportunities allow participants to network with other youth and to learn about different leadership activities and organizations,” Valdez says.

Recipient: West Broadway Youth Outreach (WBYO)
Program: Recreational summer programming
Grant(s): $8,000, drawn from the Camperships Fund



This story is featured in the Summer 2019 issue of our Working Together magazine. Download or view the full issue on our Publications page.


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