A.

Needs Statement
The Parkside Community Association (PCA) has been running a
Summer Arts Camp for more than 30 years. This program was
established to assist the growing family population in the
neighborhood. The program provides an educational option for
families to choose when considering summer childcare. The goal
of the program is to provide a safe, educational and fun
environment for children ages 5-11 across the Western New York
area. The program is not just open to our neighborhood
members, but anyone in the Buffalo area.
The Parkside Summer Arts camp serves over 1,800 households,
many with young families, just in the Parkside neighborhood
alone. The Summer Arts camp provides an opportunity for
families in the neighborhood to have a cost effective summer
childcare program. The PCA offers the lowest cost day camp in
the area. The program is offered in two different two-week
sessions. The PCA also offers early drop off and late pick up for
campers. This provides parents extra flexibility with family
events and other obligations.
Our Summer Arts Camp strives to supply a diverse and valuable
arts education for the community children. Also, the Camp
wants to give campers a safe and positive outlet to express
themselves in a creative way. The camp also provides a special
opportunity for friendships to be made and communication skills
to be strengthened all while participating in a common activity.
Arts education has been seen as a great way to increase child
development, motor skills, visual learning ability, language
development, cultural awareness and improved academic
excellence. Through The PCAs Summer Arts Camp, we provide
the access to curriculum that can assist with the development of
important skills.
The PCAs Summer Arts Camp also provides workforce
development opportunities in the community. The PCAs Board
of Directors works contentiously to ensure that highly qualified
camp counselors are chosen to participate with the camp. The
camps program model employs 30 teen counselors and 20
counselors-in-training, all under the watchful eye of a highly
qualified Camp Director. The PCA has become the place of
employment for many participants of the Buffalo Mayors
Summer Internship Program.

The education provided during the program does not stay in the
classroom. Different field trips are held during the sessions that
take the campers out into the community to learn about different
topics such as the environment. The program is designed to be
appealing to different children, with different interests. The
diversity in program topics has made the program to
continuously be a successful camp in the area. The community
is filled with many differing ages and background, who all benefit
from the services provided. In 2014, the Parkside Community
Associations Summer Arts Camp provided summer childcare
services to 105 families in the city of Buffalo, with a camp roster
of 145 registered campers.