For homeless children and youth during the summer, the daily struggle of securing essential needs – like shelter – means that less essential activities – like summer camp – are often completely out of the realm of possibility. Yet fun activities during the school year and summertime are important for helping to normalize life for children and youth experiencing the trauma of homelessness and poverty.

InnVision Shelter Network is working to address this through their Summer Adventure Camp, which provides academic programming and enrichment activities for homeless and low-income children and youth in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, including Belle Haven to East Palo Alto. The summer camp helps youth stay on track academically in addition to providing safe childcare so parents can focus on finding employment and stable housing.

We awarded InnVision a Facebook Local Community Fund grant this past spring to support their 2015 Summer Adventure Camp, in which over 150 children staying at one of six IVSN family shelters were able to participate. Throughout the summer, children learned about sound waves at the San Francisco Exploratorium, built robots at the Tech Museum of Innovation, and toured the Recology Center in San Carlos. They also were able to visit a theme park, get creative at a ceramics studio, and learn how to make pizza.

For homeless children and youth in the Bay Area, Summer Adventure Camp sparks intellectual curiosity, improves self-esteem, and helps kids enjoy their summers the way all youth should.

For more information on how you can help, please visit www.IVSN.org.