News of how Stoney’s Kids has made a difference.
Excerpts From the Recreation Scholarship Recipients
. . . Letters of Appreciation
“Thank you so much for funding my child with a scholarship to attend mini gym class this summer. It gave him an opportunity to interact with others kids, learn eye and hand coordination skills, and most important, be a team player. Times are hard money wise and without your help my son wouldn’t have participated in such a great program. Thanks for letting that opportunity be available to him, we greatly appreciate the scholarship!”
Mother
“My triplet 4 year old daughters are taking a tiny tot swim class at Fletcher Hills Pool. They are also taking preschool classes in tumbling, dance and cooking. But swim is by far their favorite. With triplets enrolled in 4 classes the fees add up quickly. But through generous donations from companies, organizations and individuals toward the Scholarship Program, it has helped families like mine to utilize these recreation programs for part of our children’s good health and well-being. Thank you for giving
back to our community.”
Mother
“I just like to thank you and let you know how appreciative I feel regarding the scholarships that my son and daughter have received the last few years. These scholarships have made it possible for my kids to participate in activities that they enjoy and that are also beneficial to them. Enrolling in activities at El Cajon Recreation Department not only keeps my kids off the street, but it also helps them increase their self-esteem and interaction with other kids. Again, thanks for scholarships and continue with the excellent job you are doing with kids.”
Father
“Thank you for the scholarship given to our daughter to attend the Gymnastics Camp. The scholarship allowed her to enjoy the experience of the camp this year, along with taking Saturday gymnastics class for the first time. Besides the athletic skills she is exposed to, the camp experience also provides additional opportunities for social skills. In fact, our daughter would like to enter the L.I.T. (Leader in Training) program for Gymnastics Camp next year. The El Cajon Recreation Department has done a wonderful job of nurturing our daughter’s love of gymnastics. The teachers, the director, and the administrators have all been supportive, encouraging and helpful since she was invited to join the T-N-T Tumblers group a few years ago. Thank you for all you do.”
Mother of teen daughter
“The Spot” After School Program – Funded by Stoney’s Kids
Agency: City of El Cajon Recreation Department
Location: Bostonia Center
Dates: September 2009-June 2010
Funded Amount: $5900.00
Staff Expense: $4976.00
Balance Remaining: $924.00
After losing funding from the County of San Diego for the after school program “The Spot”, we received a generous donation from Stoney’s Kids Foundation to continue this after school program for fiscal year 2009-2010. “The Spot” after school program ran from September 2009-June 2010. Two staff ran the program three days per week for this ten-month period. 97 youth were enrolled in the program ages ranging from 6-14. Our target issue was youth development and our strategic goal was to contribute to the positive development of elementary and middle school aged participants by providing opportunities for them to make positive choices, learn social skills and engage in constructive use of free time. The youth selected their own activities and it surprised us that they really wanted time to work on their homework, followed by choices of sports, cooking and outdoors and gym games. Participants paid 50 cents for cooking supplies on cooking day; otherwise there was no enrollment cost to the program.
Programs like these are essential at Bostonia Center where we consistently have an average of 60 youth at the center after school for several hours who can get bored and act out easily when there are no consistent structured programs. Many families in our neighborhood cannot afford childcare so programs like this are an important accessible and no-cost resource for parents. Families also benefit from knowing that increased supervision will provide a safer environment for their child.
Highlights for this after school program were assistance with homework, child driven, fun, organized activities, and increased supervision for youth. Attention from caring staff and positive role modeling helped youth who spent an extended amount of time after school at the center “get through the day” in a very positive way.
Below are listed some comments from our surveys at the end of the program:
“This program is awesome, great, and fun.”
“I enjoy Spot and I encourage others to join.”
“This program has been very positive and a great outlet for my daughter. The service has been consistent and she likes the staff.”
“I like to be in Little Spot because I learn games and get to be with my friends.”
“We learn to respect each other.”
“I like to play games and learn.”
Both Bostonia Center Kids and staff appreciated the opportunity to continue this important program and are grateful that Stoney’s Kids Foundation values and is committed to the youth of our community.
