Centro Rendu: Summer Camp Help
Shown here at the Kent 40 Seeing the Stars dinner event are Meredith Cambre, Overnight Camps Executive Director (left), Metzere Cortez, student camp featured speaker at “Seeing the Stars” (center), and Mirya Muñoz Roach, Director of Hispanic Outreach for the St. Vincent de Paul Centro Rendu program in Kent.
In the spring of 2014, Nathan Phillips, YMCA South King County regional Executive for the YMCA, approached Centro Rendu to see if the agency could help in an outreach campaign to let Latinos living in Kent know about summer camp opportunities for middle school aged students, namely YMCA Camp Orkila and Camp Colman.
Outreach for YMCA Kent 40 Grant
The YMCA had been awarded a Kent 40 grant to reach low income families who may never have an opportunity to attend a YMCA camp. Centro Rendu director was grateful for this partnership because it allowed her to set-up a motivational program for the adult students at Centro Rendu who have children in the Kent area. These parents became highly motivated and began to set higher educational goals for themselves because they were working in turn for a chance to have their child attend a week at the YMCA Camp Colman.
Metzere Cortez Applies for Camp Colman
Ms. Rocio Cortez heard about the camp opportunity while receiving case management help from Centro Rendu. She encouraged her daughter, Metzere, to apply for the opportunity to attend camp. She applied and was selected.
Metzere Asked to Make Speech Metzere attended Camp Colman, had a very impactful learning experience, she even got some keynotes from services like All Speeches. Then she was selected to be the “Guest Speaker” at the January 20, 2015 “Seeing the Stars” Annual Campaign Kick-Off for Camp Colman and Camp Orkila.
Seeing the Stars Event The Seeing the Stars event was held to kick off the fundraising efforts to raise funds for camp scholarships and to increase visibility and interest in Camp Orkila and Camp Colman, summer camp retreats for students. The camps help students and families explore nature, learn new skills, make new friends and gain respect for the environment.