Childs Park YMCA hosts summer showcase

BY ALLEN A. BUCHANAN, Staff  Writer

ST. PETERSBURG — Over 260 people packed the Childs Park YMCA (CPY) auditorium to see summer campers “Puttin’ On the Ritz” for their culminating project. The K-8 camp participants experienced cultural as well as educational enrichment during their break from school.

The theme of the showcase was “Celebrate the Positive Summer Camp Experiences Provided to Youth K-8th Grade.” Six, seven and eighth graders under supervision of Regina Cooper from the Harbordale YMCA came to perform alongside the Kindergarteners through fifth graders at CPY under the supervision of Deborah Figgs-Sanders talented staff.

Both groups thrilled the audience with an hour of song, creative dance, step and recital performances.

The dance routines by both groups of youngsters really stirred the crowd. Another highlight was the children’s individually reciting of biographies by famous black intellectuals, such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and Maya Angelou.

During the CPY camp, youngsters engage in a variety of activities such as daily devotion, gardening, karate, Girl Scouts, creative dance, Kids Fit, visual arts and line dancing exercise. In addition to enrichment activities, they participated in four to five hours daily of academic study including Summer Care provided by the United Way and weekly Reading Circle provided by the St. Petersburg Library Systems.

At the end of the program, three children representing the CYP showed their appreciation and gratitude to Figgs-Sanders by presenting her with an Edibles Arrangement basket of fruit and a large silver balloon. Figgs-Sanders in turn thanked her staff by calling them up one-by-one and presenting each one with a gift.

CPY features a fully functional state-of-the art computer lab and staffed library. For more information on the variety of services featured at the center, Deborah Figgs-Sanders can be reached at (727) 209-9622.