MiddSummer Lunch and Recreation Program has decided to cancel our 2020 Summer Camp. 

MiddSummer is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2003 by a group of caring community members. It has grown from a half-day program that lasted two weeks, to a full day, five-week summer camp that gives children opportunities and experiences that they would not have otherwise. Our mission is to teach at-risk children lifelong positive nutrition skills and usable recreational skills. Nutritious meals and supervised recreational activities make up the core of the program.

Our camp runs for 8 hours/day, 5 days/week for 5 weeks during summer vacation. Our staff is made up of a full-time director (who holds a teaching license) and 2 full-time counselors. Our part-time staff includes a morning counselor, guidance counselor, lifeguard and gardener. Our program administrator assists during the 5-week summer camp as needed. Camp activities include:

• Daily breakfast and lunch meals prepared by Mary Johnson Children's Center's cook
• Daily afternoon snack prepared by camp staff and a small group of campers
• Shopping trips for snack and cooking class ingredients
• Gardening at Mary Hogan School and Hannaford Career Center
• Cooking classes with UVM Extension and Hunger Free Vermont, including ingredients to take home to recreate a meal for their family
• Weekly pizza decorating for campers to take home to share with their families
• Daily swimming at the town pool (except on field trip days)
• Outdoor recreation activities, including kayaking and swimming at Lake Dunmore
• Indoor recreation activities, including yoga, Zumba, rock climbing, African dance and cooperative games organized by staff
• Field trips, including ECHO, indoor rock climbing, Lake Monsters baseball games, berry picking, Carillon Boat Cruise, local fire department/police station/ambulance station, local library
• Attend Festival on the Green "Brown Bag Lunch Series"
• Hands-on science projects led by staff
• Art and craft projects led by staff, including paper-mache, beading, tye-dye, flower pot painting
• Community Service, including building bird houses for local elderly homes, visiting local nursing homes, and participating in small group activities with residents
• Educational Presentations: Children's Literacy Foundation (CLiF), Vermont Institute of Natural Science-Raptor Show
• Literacy: Read-aloud time by counselor or silent reading by campers