MANSFIELD — Angel Singleton remembers a conversation she had years ago with Deanna West-Torrence, founder and CEO of the North End Community Improvement Collaborative.
“Deanna told me about the food desert in this area and that kids and families needed help, especially during the summer when school is out,” said Singleton, the recreation coordinator for the City of Mansfield Parks & Recreation Department.
That conversation helped trigger Singleton to launch the department’s Summer Camp program, which wraps up its fifth season on Friday at North Lake Park.
Between 30 and 35 children in grades kindergarten through sixth grade participated in the program this summer for the last eight weeks, coming to the park Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for food, fun and educational life experiences.
“The program provides food security for children in low-income area. It also provides a safe place for the kids in the summer and quality programming with visits from all kinds of people from the community,” Singleton said.
Nearby on Thursday afternoon, older youngsters from the Catalyst Life Services summer youth work program worked with the children in competitive tug-of-war matches.
Through a partnership with the Cleveland Food Bank, the program supplies breakfasts and lunches to the children, augmented by snacks provided locally.
But the program has grown far beyond just making sure children don’t go hungry.
“We have built it up over the years. I think our programming is vast now. That’s something I am really proud of, working with other organizations in the community,” Singleton said.
For example, representatives from the Ohio Bird Sanctuary, the Mansfield Art Center and the Richland Academy of the Arts have visited the camp. Richland County Children Services has also been a partner again this summer.
“A lot of our kids have never seen the birds the sanctuary brings in and they have never tried ballet dancing,” she said. “But we also just have regular individuals in the community who come in to meet and talk with the children about a wide range of things.”
Naturalist Ginger Stoops visited several times for programs.
“Here we are in this great park and I wanted someone with knowledge of nature and other things that she could talk about,” Singleton said.
“For example, apparently this is a bunch of poison ivy around here and Ginger pointed it out to the kids. She did a lesson on geese, which we have a lot of around here. They are everywhere,” Singleton said.
“The kids really enjoyed her and I can’t wait to work with her some more,” she said.
Another key program is the daily “Being A Reader Makes You A Leader” program. Each day after the children finish lunch, a community leader comes in to read a book aloud.
“The kids get to see people from all different kinds of backgrounds and professions, men and women, young and old,” Singleton said.
The end-of-year celebration on Friday will include a visit from members of the Mansfield Fire Department.
“We always have them come down and they bring a big firetruck. The kids really love that. They idolize the firefighters,” Singleton said.
There will also be a bounce house, “Kidz Bop” music, crafts, pizza and more. Donated back-to-school supplies will also be distributed.
The program has operated on different grant funds over the years, including the United Way of Richland County, the Richland County Foundation and allocations from the city’s Community Development Block Grant funds.
“The parks in Mansfield always provided some kind of summer programming. I wanted to bring that back, even on a reduced budget,” Singleton said.
