The Wise Street Park has served as an open site for youth in Newberry for over six years. Teens and kids can be seen walking from their house in the surrounding Wise Street Neighborhood to come to the park for their 3-hour day summer camp. Newberry Housing Authority provides lunch and snack for the youth and the Newberry Literacy Council provides the fun, educational activities, and field trips.
The staff and volunteers of the Newberry Literacy Council deeply care for the youth of the area. They are passionate about making a difference in the lives of the kids and teens that attend the camp by working to prevent the “summer slide” and providing a healthy lunch and snack. The Director, Barbara Chapman, even uses her Grandmother’s house in the neighborhood when it is too hot to hold the camp underneath the shed at the park. Youth and teens always leave with a smiling face from being able to play basketball, doing literacy activities, playing on the playground, or going out of town to exciting field trips.
Newberry County Literacy is partnering with two agencies in particular to provide their students a unique experience this summer. They are partnering with the South Carolina Tennis Association to provide tennis lessons as well as the Department of Health Environment and Control’s SNAP-ed program to provide 6 week of cooking lessons. Youth have learned to cook salads loaded with fruits and vegetables and other kid-friendly meal options.
The Newberry Literacy Council’s Wise Street Park Camp will continue every Monday through Thursday from 11am-1:30pm through Thursday, July 27th. They invite all residents of Newberry County to attend their end of the summer celebratory parade downtown on Main Street on Wednesday, July 26th at 10am. All youth in attendance will be provided a complimentary lunch through the Summer Food Service Program. To learn more about the Summer Food Service Program at Wise Street Park visit: http://newberryread.com.