Nonprofit Spotlight: DeVos-Blum Family YMCA of Boynton Beach
Campers: 350 total, 53 Caridad Center youths
Sites: Boynton YMCA, Santaluces Community High School
All Day: 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for nine weeks
One day this past summer, the DeVos-Blum YMCA of Boynton Beach summer camp bustled with children at tables working intently on a science project, young camp counselors nearby.
Within the mix were more 53 children ages 5 to 15 years old, who may have found themselves at home unsupervised, out on the farm fields, or with their parents at their jobs.
They are children referred to the YMCA by the Caridad Center, a free health clinic that caters mainly to the working poor and farm workers’ families. They attend the summer camp free of charge thanks, in part, to a $30,000 grant from the Community Foundation.
“They refer children with the greatest needs,” said Barry Davis, executive director at the Boynton Beach YMCA. “All of the families that we get are at or below poverty level.”
The Caridad children are integrated into all the programs. So, there is no stigma associated with not having the ability to pay. They take part in all the activities.
“They do swimming,” Davis said. “They play games. They do sports. They go on field trips every week.”
Those who don’t know how to swim or are not strong swimmers take swim lessons to learn water safety skills.
Early in his tenure at the Y, Davis was surprised to learn that some of the Caridad Center-referred children had never been to a pool or to the ocean.
“Through the Community Foundation and their donors’ generosity, we can make those experiences possible,” he said. “They’re keeping these kids safe. They’re giving these kids a place to grow, to learn, and to feel included.”
Davis said those experiences have long-reaching impact.
“You’re looking at shaping and possibly changing the lives for the better of these children,” he said. “That is incredible.”
