HARTFORD, Conn., July 8, 2009 – Trinity College’s Dream Camp kicked off its 2009 season on June 29 with more than 250 Hartford children ages 6 to 16 arriving on campus for the five-week summer program that runs through July 31.
Now in its 12th season, the summer camp and year-round academic mentoring program nurtures participating elementary school through high school students in a supportive, safe environment. The camp has an annual return rate of greater than 95 percent. Trinity College students serve as tutors and mentors throughout the academic year, and many remain on campus as Dream Camp counselors during the summer. About 25 percent of Dream Camp staff members are former campers.
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Matt Noble, second from left, with Dream Campers on the campus of Trinity College. Noble, a recent graduate of Hartford Public High School, is a member of the camp staff this summer and also is looking forward to entering Trinity as a first-year student in the fall. Photo: John Marinelli View more Dream Camp photos. |
One former camper is Matt Noble, a recent graduate of Hartford Public High School and a National Honor Society member, who began attending Dream Camp in 1998. In addition to this being his first summer serving as a member of the camp staff, he is looking forward to entering Trinity as a first-year student in the fall. The past two summers, Noble participated in the camper leadership program, as a Young Leader and a Mentor-in-Training. Now, as a camp staff member and incoming Trinity student, his ability to serve as a role model for the campers is a huge point of pride for Dream Camp and Trinity College. While there have been several Dream Campers in recent years who have gone on after high school to attend a college or university, Noble will be the first Dream Camp graduate to attend Trinity.
Among the chief goals of Trinity’s Dream Camp are to enhance out-of-school educational opportunities for Hartford’s children, build confidence and academic skills, improve success in school and, therefore, a desire to pursue higher education. As campers enter high school and begin considering options for college, Dream Camp’s programs focus more heavily on issues such as college awareness, admissions, SAT prep, and navigating through college and financial aid applications.
A major highlight for teenage Dream Campers this year will be Thursday, July 9, when a full-day Teen Empowerment Workshop will be led by author and motivational speaker, Lee Brower. Best known for his appearance in the international film and book, The Secret, Brower will address the importance of positive focus, gratitude, and integrity. He will also explore the power of constructive communication and the importance of being authentic and true to one’s values.
For the second year in a row, Versa Products Company, whose president and CEO, Jan Larsson, is a 1977 Trinity graduate, is supporting the Versa Valves Engineering Internship Program. Two Trinity students will serve as mentors introducing a robotics curriculum to about 60 Hartford middle school students attending Dream Camp. In addition to working with the youngsters at Dream Camp to introduce basic principles of robotics over the summer, the Trinity students will help them during the 2009-10 school year in preparing to enter the annual Trinity College Fire Fighting Home Robot Contest in April 2010.
Financial support for Trinity’s Dream Camp is provided by: an anonymous Trinity College alumnus, Bank of America Foundation, Inc., J. Walton Bissell Foundation, Ensworth Charitable Foundation, The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation, Charles Nelson Robinson Fund, Travelers Foundation, Versa Products Company, and friends of the College.
Every year, Dream Camp has more applicants than space available, with a current waiting list of almost 200 children. Contributions are welcome to help make it possible for more children to attend Dream Camp. Please contact amy.brough@trincoll.edu for more information on making a gift to Dream Camp.
View more Dream Camp Photos.