SAAS’s Partnership with South Park
Sparks a Rise in Summer Camp Participation

South Park Summer Camps saw record participation in both youth participants and student camp counselors this year as good weather and resources provided the opportunity to meet for sports, music, art, and games. Starting in July we offered three weeks of sports, visual arts, and digital music activities to South Park Youth through SAAS’s public-private partnership with the City of Seattle and Seattle Parks and Recreation to renovate and upgrade the South Park Community Center site in South Seattle. As a project partner, we have committed to the construction of the new full-size, multisport field and dedicated programming funding for the South Park Community. 

This is our fourth year organizing sports and activity camps over the summer and continues our ongoing efforts to have a presence in the South Park community. We also incorporated visual arts and digital music production lessons into this year’s camps to broaden the scope of offerings, in addition to broadening participation.  

As the 2021-22 school year wrapped up and we looked forward to summer, we saw a renewed vigor for community service and action amongst students. There was a drive to trade in time at home for activities and volunteer hours. South Park Summer Camps provided the perfect opportunity to satisfy these combined interests and as such, we saw a rise in participation of both student counselors and South Park campers this year. Many were returning counselors and campers. 

One parent, Elisa, had three kids attend summer camps and confirmed that this was something her daughter was looking forward to throughout the year. “She made a friend at the camp last year,” explains Elisa, “so they both returned this year and were excited to see each other again.” 

A total of 80 youths from South Park, ages 7 to 13, signed up for summer camps, with an average of 40 boys and girls attending each day. And a total of 27 SAAS students volunteered as camp counselors and oversaw activities from basketball to badminton, music production lessons to tie-dyeing t-shirts, soccer, tennis, softball, and more.

Despite a general return to pre-pandemic life, the South Park Community Center continues to see reduced open hours and limited resources for after-school and summer programs. For many parents and guardians, these no-cost summer camps provided much-needed socialization, movement, and fun for kids that have had few opportunities to recreate over the past four years. For youth in their formidable years, this deficit is huge. 

“I think the best moments are when you get a kid to try something they have never done before,” says George Alvarado-Salinas, a SAAS alumnus and camp counselor this year. 

Phinneas, a camper this summer, agreed when he said, “I love camp because I get to play soccer with my friends and I love trying new sports, like lacrosse, because I normally only play soccer and football.” 

This sentiment was echoed by SAAS organizers who brought in several new elements like music production lessons and tie-dyeing. Campers had the opportunity to break from sports to tie-dye shirts under the creative direction of Laura Wright, Upper School Visual Arts & Media Teacher. And Michael Garcia, former music director at the Mercer Island Boys & Girls Club and current DJ, worked with SAAS to provide daily music production lessons during the first week of camp. “Altogether, it was personally and especially rewarding as a Latino American to see so many kids who come from a predominantly Latino community be afforded these opportunities as our communities are historically so often overlooked. I was proud to be a part of such a beneficial program and I hope that it can continue to grow in the years to come,” says Michael. 

SAAS provided all the necessary equipment – laptops, drum machines, and headphones – while Michael and key student counselors Matteo and Nate taught campers to use a free online program called Sound Trap to create their own music. “Nate and Matteo took on a very strong leadership role in presenting the class, the technology, and the possibilities,” says Craig Tomlinson, who organizes the South Park programming each year. 

“I am proud to see the growth of this program and the impact it has on all of us, not just campers, but also the staff,” says Craig. “For us to be able to give these kids more opportunities than we had — that’s what it is all about. It’s a gift to be able to provide a space where kids can come to enjoy themselves, invest in themselves, and take away from the experience.” 

Community centers are vital to the success of families in underserved communities. They provide free food, educational support, child care, extracurricular activities, and so much more that the community might not otherwise have access to. Youth in low-income communities often rely on these resources and knowing that our summer sports camps were the main offering for the South Park Community Center, we wanted to be part of that support. 

As our participation numbers grow, we continue to be strategic about what resources are most needed each year and how to break down barriers to accessing these resources. During the second and third weeks of camp, SAAS provided transportation to and from South Park Community Center to the nearby Highland Park Playground for safe field spaces to host the South Park soccer camps. Each day throughout the camps, we provided daily lunch, snacks, juice boxes, and bottles of water to campers.

Craig Tomlinson ran these summer camps with Brad Evans — both of whom are former Sounders players who work at Seattle Academy. Craig has been a SAAS faculty member since 2001, a coach, and first spearheaded camps at South Park in 2019 and continues to be the lead organizer. Brad joined SAAS in 2021 to coach boys and girls soccer alongside Craig. Recently retired from professional soccer (in 2018) and still actively involved as a Sounders Brand Ambassador — Brad has remained committed to serving communities around Seattle. 

“The South Park Summer camps continue to provide a safe and inclusive environment for kids to play and connect,” says Brad. “I’m always amazed to see the smiling, familiar faces from years past. The drive and commitment from the kids was fantastic again this year and I can feel the impact these camps are making within the community.” 

We are committed to annually hosting summer camps at South Park. Our goal is to spark the belief in kids that they can try and achieve, and to eliminate barriers so that youth in South Park have the opportunity to learn, grow, and be inspired. We hope this partnership model will inspire and galvanize others in our region to creatively solve problems and address community needs across the city and beyond.

You can read previous communications outlining the full details of our partnership and plans here, and the Seattle Parks & Recreation Fact Sheet here. 

If you have questions or would like to learn more, please contact: Blaire Piha Shainsky ’07, Major Gifts Director, at bshainsky@seattleacademy.org.

 

 

 

 

 

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