With millions of students ending their school year remotely and entering a summer of social distancing, families are finding new ways to stay entertained at home. Virtual summer camps being one of them.
“Since we’re all stuck at home it really helps to get you doing things and not just sitting on the couch watching TV,” said Elsie Modjeski.
Nine year old Elsie says virtual summer camp is keeping her distracted from the isolation and boredom the pandemic has brought on.
“You make like a tic tac toe grid and you flip your water bottles. And when you make it you get to put down your x’s or your o’s,” said Elsie.
Elsie attends UNICEF’s Kid Power Virtual Summer Camp every day. The platform features over 75 short videos that guide children through activities and new skills.
Anyone can sign up.
“There’s sports stuff, arts and crafts, water sports, camp songs. So if you’re a camp director, you can log on and share with your campers at home or if you're a family. Just pick and choose whatever you want to do. There’s fun games and activities. For example, tie dye t-shirt activities. All that stuff you imagine camp is, we have it there,” said Ryan Modjeski, Managing Director of UNICEF Kid Power.
By participating in the activities, campers have the opportunity to give back locally and globally.
According to Elsie’s father Ryan, who’s the UNICEF Kid Power Managing Director, nearly one million kids across the U.S. have come together to save 100,000 lives through the program.
How does it work?
“Every time they watch 10 videos they unlock a lifesaving food aid for kids around the world. They earn coins that they can spend on giving meals to food banks or even planting trees in a national forest. All that does is it takes all the energy the kids have and gives it a purpose and place to go,” added Ryan.
It’s philanthropic, educational, and for Elsie and her siblings- fun.
“I love that since we’re at home and you can’t go to camp, you can have camp at home and you can do a lot of fun activities,” said Elsie.
Ryan mentioned that the counselors who lead the activities in the videos will also be available for organizations to hire for live sessions.
If you’re interested in learning more or to sign up, click here.
