Rise's H.E.L.P. Program Receives Grant from Princeton Area Community Foundation

For six weeks every summer, Rise’s Summer H.E.L.P. Program offers parents an affordable option for the where their children attend classes, socialize and participate in various activities. And a grant from the Princeton Area Community Foundation is helping Rise fulfill its goals.

According to Leslie Koppel, the executive director of Rise, the $15,000 contribution is the largest private grant the summer program received this year. The grant was part of $435,000 awarded through the Princeton Area Community Foundation to various programs.

“This camp is unusual in that it’s income-based, so the fees are based basically on income, and the prices are very reasonable for families,” Koppel said.

H.E.L.P. (which stands for Highstown-East Windsor Learning Partners) is held at the Walter C. Black Elementary School in Hightstown. The relationship between Rise and the school is vital to the program, according to Koppel. “Without their support, we couldn’t have the camp,” she said.

Support also comes from organizations like the Junior League of Greater Princeton, which donates art supplies, and a local sorority that has made donations, Koppel said.

This year’s program started on July 5 and will continue through Aug. 12. In all, 109 children are participating, 54 of whom received full scholarships.

“We were able to give over 50 students a full scholarship of free quality programming for six weeks over the summer, so that parents can work and not worry about their kids,” Koppel said.

Kids in the camp attend classes Mondays through Thursdays. Classes are held in reading, writing, math, science and, new this year, art. Another new element this summer is swimming instruction. On Fridays, the students participate in field trips.

The grant from Princeton Area Community Foundation will help pay teacher salaries, according to Koppel. “All of the teachers we have there are certified, we have all certified teachers in the morning and then we have all adult counselors in the afternoon,” she said.

The camp also hires kids ages 15 to 17 to work as young counselors.

“They’re getting a salary but they’re also learning job skills, they’re doing community service project,” Koppel said. “And we’re giving them a place to be every day for six weeks over the summer in a very productive environment.”

Kids in the camps, as well as the youth counselors, also complete their summer reading lists through trips to the library.

 According to Koppel, students from all ends of the economic spectrum attend the Summer H.E.L.P. Program, and a sliding scale for tuition offers an option to parents who otherwise might not be able to place their children in a camp or learning program for the summer.

“There’s not other option for many of the kids in the camp to have a structured environment for the summer,” she said. “Otherwise, they’d be left alone with a sibling, or on their own.”

For more information about Rise, go to www.rise-community-services.org.