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ORGANIZATION : GIFFORD YOUTH ACTIVITY CENTER PROGRAM: SUMMER CULTURAL CAMP FUNDER: CHILDREN'S SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE B. PROGRAM NEED STATEMENT (Entire Section B not to exceed one page) 1 . a) What is the unacceptable condition requiring change? b) Who has the need? c) Where do they live? d) Provide local, state, or national trend data, with reference source, that corroborates that this is an area of need. What: Limited number of affordable programs available to working parents for summer childcare. Who : Children with risk factors such as qualifying for the free or reduced lunch program, living in single parent homes, alcohol tobacco or drug use, symptoms of depression, displaying anti-social behavior or dropping out of school. Many families have single parents or both parents working full time. Many parents find themselves stretched to the limit just trying to provide basic needs . Where: The numbers of school aged children living in Indian River County are located in the western, central and southern ends of the county. The children with the greatest socioeconomic need are centrally located in the county. Summer programs offered for children are limited. The Summer Cultural Camp offers productive, supervised activities that give children tools for living. The Summer Cultural Camp is held at the Vero Beach Museum of Art and the Riverside Children Theatre, which addresses the need for a central location. For those in the Gifford area and needing transportation, GYAC will provide it daily to camp participants . Data : Figures form the Florida Department of Education indicates a steady increase in students in Indian River County eligible for the free or reduced lunch program. In 2000-2001 , the percentage was 39% and for 2001 -2002, the figure rose to 46%, a 7% increase in just one year. This translates into 6,856 of the county' s 14,904 students being eligible for the free or reduced lunch program. Data from the needs assessment conducted in 2002 by the Children' s Services Advisory Committee indicated that the percent growth in impoverished families with children in Indian River County had a 46% rise from 1990-2002. Evident in the report was a need for mental wellness for children in our county. Prevention of mental distress and illness was the recommended outcome. The Summer Cultural Camp program gives each child the opportunity to identify a creative act that requires discipline and perseverance in mastering the craft, which gives the child a healthy outlet for expression, increases his or her feelings of self worth and gives the child constructive ways to spend spare time in healthy recreation. All of these skills assist in the prevention of mental distress and illness. 2. a) Identify similar programs that are currently serving the needs of your targeted population ; b) Explain how these existing programs are under-serving the targeted population of your program. a) The Riverside Children' s Theatre and the Vero Beach Museum of Art have programs, but they are not financially available for low income parents . This Summer Cultural Camp gives children what could be the only opportunity they may have to be exposed to professionally instructed visual and dramatic arts instruction at the GYAC . Boys & Girls Clubs and Daisy Bridgewater Hope Center will be operational at this time for day care needs. b) The Feed the Lambs operated by John May is a recreational and literacy based summer camp; The GYAC ' s Haven Camp and Freedom School are an education/literacy based summer programs . Only the Riverside Children' s Theatre and the Vero Beach Museum of Art offers these art programs. This grant enables those in financial need to participate in these excellent and enriching opportunities . 5