This week, 22 kids are two hours away from Trenton at a summer camp sponsored by the Princeton-Blairstown Center
TRENTON -- The joys of sleepaway camp is something few inner-city kids have experienced: sleeping in a cabin, swimming in a lake or sitting around a campfire under a starry sky.
But this summer, dozens of Trenton kids have been given the opportunity to attend camp -- without it costing them a penny.
On Monday, 22 middle-school students boarded a bus bound for Blairstown as part of the Princeton-Blairstown Center's Summer Bridge program.
The nonprofit, which was founded in 1908 by Princeton University undergraduates and alumni to provide adventure-based, experiential learning to at-risk youth, piloted the program last year with seed money from the Newark-based Victoria Foundation. This year, more funding was made available, allowing them to include Trenton kids.
When there were unexpected cancellations, Pam Gregory, the center's president and CEO, reached out to Dale Caldwell, the head of school at Village Charter School. Caldwell then connected with Paul Perez, whose Partnerships for Trenton nonprofit used its contacts to find 22 eager kids.
Perez said it was a whirlwind few days, but it was worth it to see their faces as they learned what they would be doing over the next week and when they boarded the bus.
"It's something that they will remember for the rest of their lives," he said.
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Gregory said that too often, inner-city children are kept cooped up indoors over safety concerns, but the chance to visit a summer camp can open their eyes to something new entirely.
"It opens their horizon and world to something beyond their couple city blocks in Trenton," she said. "It's a time when they can really feel a sense of freedom and be a kid outdoors."
The Summer Bridge program, which is designed to stem summer learning loss and build social-emotional skills, blends three hours of academic enrichment with traditional summer camp activities, like a ropes course, climbing tower, swimming, canoeing and hiking.
For many, it's the first time they are seeing forests and lakes, Gregory said.
She said it costs between $400 and $500 to send a child to the program. Students are divided into small groups and are paired with a staff member and a chaperone from home, who stays with them overnight.
"I'm really grateful to Paul for reaching out to his network and making sure that these young people had this opportunity because if he hadn't, we would have capacity that would have gone unused," Gregory said.
Other groups from Village Charter School, Mercer County Community College's Gear Up program and the 1st Chronicles of the Living God Ministries will also be making the trip this summer.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.