Partner Stories

In addition to creating a safe, accepting environment for these school-age children, KidSpirit seeks to expand their youth’s horizons and build their interests by offering a plethora of interactive educational and enrichment activities that revolve around areas such sports, art, science, cooking, and more. Swanger and Swensen say they also challenge participants by stressing the importance of setting goals and building leadership skills. Specifically, by participating in KidSpirit for several summers, these children can progressively work towards achieving goals that they have set, which include earning teen leadership and counselor roles within the program.

Without KidSpirit, the lives of several groups of people would be greatly impacted. For example, KidSpirit has relieved emotional and economic strain for Oregon’s families, who often rely on summer programs such as KidSpirit to allow them to attend their jobs during the day and ensure that their children are not only safe during the workday, but gaining new knowledge and friends during the experience. KidSpirit also employs hundreds of college-age students each summer. Such employment not only eases the financial costs of attending college for these students, but it may also help the students discover new passions such as working with children, understanding the psychology surrounding children, et cetera. Perhaps most importantly, the KidSpirit program is integral for providing school-age children with the necessary skills to thrive later in their lives and make meaningful contributions to society. As an example, KidSpirit helped a young girl named Premie, whose parents were concerned that school would be an overwhelming experience for their child, become comfortable interacting with her peers and practicing “school” skills. After several summers attending KidSpirit, Premie’s skills and confidence had grown to the point where she became the first from her family to attend college.