Summer for All

At its March 17th school board meeting, the Napa Valley Unified School District approved a landmark agreement with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Napa Valley which will allow us, in partnership with Napa County Office of Education, and others to provide 2,800 Napa and American Canyon children with six-weeks of full day summer enrichment and to provide access to these programs free of charge. “We are so excited by this opportunity because the impact of this level of service to the children of Napa and American Canyon will be felt in every facet of the Napa Valley community,” says Greg Bouillerce, the Club’s Executive Director.

Summer Camps are a core, but largely unknown, aspect of the Napa and American Canyon Club experience. “It’s always surprising to me when people are unaware of what their kids could be accessing if they were enrolled in Summer Camp,” continued Bouillerce. With over 75 years of experience in Napa Valley, the Boys & Girls Clubs have Summer camps down to a science. Routines are critical for kids and so we use a regular structure so that they always know what to expect. That structure also offers a lot of room for flexibility so that kids are eager to see what might be in store. With so many kids fixated on screens and technology, it’s critically important to put kids in situations that challenge them to build relationships through tangible and engaging experience with peers and mentors. With that in mind, when you walk into our programs this summer you’re going to find kids doing art, playing sports, and singing camp songs. “If kids are going home dirty, tired and with a smile, it means we’re doing our job,“ concluded Bouillerce. While most of these programs will take place at NVUSD School locations the Club will also create experiences for kids outside of Napa Valley. Field trips to the Exploratorium, Major League Ball Games, and the redwoods are staples of the Clubs Summer Camp programs.

These expanded learning opportunities are transformative and that’s what makes the Clubs work so vital. It’s easy to mistake the Clubs programs as good intentioned fun, but there’s a lot more going on for those who care to look deeper. We use fun as a vehicle for growth and engagement. Yes, we’re doing arts & crafts, but we’re also using this time to talk about emotional health and creating safe spaces for kids to explore difficult subjects and how they feel about them. Yes, we’re doing sports, but we’re also teaching kids

about the importance of teamwork and how to learn through failure. When you walk by our sites, you’re going to hear singing and skits but we’re also teaching kids what it means to be a part of a community of care and joy. That’s the hidden and tangible magic that we get to inject into these summer camps and how fortunate that this expanded partnership comes at a time when these lessons and opportunities are desperately needed.

The scale of this effort is herculean by comparison to previous summers and so the Club is actively hiring to fill over 100 summer staff positions. When it comes to the success of our programs there is nothing more important than the person wearing the staff shirt. The Club is upping the ante by increasing its starting wage and offering a very competitive hiring and summer bonus structure to ensure that the summer experience at the Club is an absolute blast! We need artists, athletes, musicians, scientists, DIYers and cheerleaders. This is a great opportunity for people looking to offset hours in the hospitality sector. If you or someone you know is looking for a part time, full time, temp or full blown career opportunities there has never been a better time to get involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Napa Valley!