Activities and trips galore for park’s Teen Camp
They’ll kayak, sail, shop, volunteer for great organizations and more.
Officials at North Community Park have announced that registration is now open for North Park Community Center’s Teen Summer Camp.
“Teen Camp has been held here for over 10 years,” said Senior Parks and Recreation Specialist and Camp Director Libby Olive. “The camp is designed specifically with the teenager in mind. All programs and activities are geared for teens – and it’s a blast.”
Teens that are too young to work, but too old for a babysitter should try the camp, said Olive.
“The teen camp is a great place for your teenager to meet new friends and have fun in a safe environment,” she said. “Some of the activities and trips include swimming, volunteering, shopping, skating, kayaking, arts and crafts, team-building, career exploration, water sports and barbecues.
“There’s different daily activities and we travel, go off-site to different places and have field trips every Thursday and Friday.”
It’s always a great summer activity, said Christine Sustrich, senior recreation specialist for the park.
“The kids can’t wait to come back the next day and see their counselors and start all over again,” she said.
They try to gear the field trips to different things that interest teens. She noted some of the great trips they have planned for this year.
“One different one is to Outback Steakhouse in Cape Coral where the kids get a tour throughout the restaurant, where they show them how they make their homemade french fries and them give the kids lunch,” she said. “The kids also get a coupon for a child’s dinner to come back again.”
Olive has been busy planning the other numerous field trips, which this year will include Pump It Up.
“That’s an indoor inflatable party zone – that’s their theme,” said Olive. “They have bounce houses, a big slide, a dual obstacle course and more. One day we’ll also go to Gulf Coast Town Center and do some shopping and we’ll have a campus tour of FGCU as well.”
She said they will also spend a day at the Edison Sailing Center where they will get to kayak, sail and powerboat.
“We actually will be kayaking quite a bit, four different times throughout the summer,” she said. “And I just finished booking an ice skating trip to Geramine Arena.”
It’s not just fun and games, said Olive.
“We’re also volunteering at the Animal Refuge Center and at the Soup Kitchen in Fort Myers,” she said.
Teen Camp is open for ages 12-16 and runs June 22 through Aug. 14. The hours of camp are 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Scheduled programs take place between 9:30 a.m. through 4 p.m. The Teen Camp is located at the North Fort Myers Community Park, 2021 N. Tamiami Trail, behind the North Fort Myers Library.
The registration fee for the camp is $60 per week and the price includes lunch.
Registration can be completed by phone by calling 533-7440, in person or on the Web site: www.leeparks.org.
If you register on the Web site leeparks.org, you will receive 10 percent off the registration fee. The camp price per week is $54 if you register on-line.