Community Corner
Children Enjoy WNC Summer Camp
Westfield Neighborhood Council brings back summer camp after a five-year absence.
The school year has adjourned, the classrooms emptied, and the children of Westfield have begun their summer routines of dancing through rotating sprinklers and chasing the ice cream man. While some kids will find themselves in the mountains of upstate New York; and others, the woods of western Pennsylvania, there is a new option for those children who will remain within Westfield. Thanks to recent funding, the Westfield Neighborhood Council Summer Program has reopened its doors after originally shutting down five years ago.
The primary focus of the program is to give children in the surrounding neighborhoods of Cacciola Place and Windsor Avenue a safe and healthy habitat in which they can play. When asked about the importance of the program, Patricia Faggins, administrator of the Westfield Neighborhood Council noted, if it wasn't for the program "the children would be playing in the street while their parents are at work."
After having lost funding from the Westfield United Fund, the WNC was only able to remain afloat after cutting some programs including the one set aside for summer recreation. Over the past year, the WNC was able to procure funding from the Westfield Municipal Alliance as well as the Westfield Foundation, a private organization dedicated to attracting charitable funds and providing leadership to the community.
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The program will be offered at WNC's headquarters at 127 Cacciola Pl. on a small street that runs between Central and South avenues until August 21. The WNC has accepted children between the ages of 6 and 12.
Faggins said the camp has 35 children registered and a variety of activities have been planned over the past few weeks. Faggins is assisted by several counselors in running the camp.
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The campers have enjoyed trips to Memorial Pool along with activities at the WNC headquarters. The group has had a movie day at the Rialto along with several field trips, including Liberty Science Center in Jersey City and the Bronx Zoo. Two more trips are planned to Medieval Times and Dorney Park.
Faggins said the camp held a successful Luau Party earlier this month, where campers played musical chairs, held several contests and feasted on a variety of foods. The campers will participate in a block party the WNC is planning for August.
