NEYC offers many day camps

It’s been a spring of ups and downs for Northeast Youth Center in Hillyard.

First, a group of Leadership Spokane students helped NEYC successfully fundraise for a commercial-sized freezer to help stock up on and safely keep food for its Kids Café program.

Then two NEYC vans transporting kids to school ran into each other on East Wellesley Avenue.

No one was seriously injured in the accident, but the Department of Early Learning is investigating what happened.

At the time some worried whether that investigation would hamper the popular summer programs NEYC has offered for more than 10 summers in a row, but everything is running according to plan.

“ ‘Best in Play’ is our motto,” said Kimbre Vega, NEYC director. “We are all positive and working to be the best.”

NEYC’s day camps are geared toward low-income families, but everyone is welcome. The camps include a USDA-approved breakfast and lunch program, and payment plans are available. State pay, through the Department of Social and Health Services, is accepted as well.

Some camps are at NEYC, others are at local schools or at neighborhood community centers, and not all camps are offered all summer, so check the schedule carefully.

The Rock – Little League camp is for kids ages 9 to 15 and it will offer the opportunity to learn how to compose music with others, create a band and compete in weekly jam sessions.

Little Inventors Camp is for first- through third-graders and will be in the meeting room at the greenhouse in Manito Park. This camp includes creepy crawly adventures and science experiments, as well as a segment on space adventures.

Survivor Camp is for the 9- to 13-year-olds. It will be at Camp Sekani on Beacon Hill. Challenging and competitive obstacle courses are ready to be conquered and “Fear Factor” foods are ready to be swallowed.

Back by popular demand is Camo Camp, also at Camp Sekani. It will have a military theme and kids from 5 to 15 years old will learn how to do GPS tracking, camouflage face paint and shelter building.

The X-treme Teen Camp offers a week full of rafting, canoeing, pool shooting and rock climbing for youths ages 13 to 15.

Some destination camps offer a shuttle service for an extra fee.

These are just four of the camps offered. Registration is ongoing and some fill up very fast.

For more information, prices and a complete schedule call (509) 482-0708 or go to www.spokaneneyc.org.