SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A YMCA summer camp program for youth from low-income families was announced Saturday by San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher.
The program will provide childcare for parents who are going back to work during the coronavirus pandemic as more businesses reopen, said James Canning, Fletcher spokesman.
A $1 million grant from The San Diego Foundation's COVID-19 Community Response Fund will support the initiative, Canning said.
"As a parent, I understand it will not be easy for parents to go back to work without viable and safe childcare options," said Fletcher, co- chair of the county's COVID-19 subcommittee. "As we gradually open up our economy, single parent households and working families are going to need more support with watching their kids while they are at work. This new partnership is one way we're doing it."
The partnership includes the YMCA of San Diego County, one of the largest summer camp providers in the county, and is accredited by the American Camping Association, Canning said.
Details about how to sign up for camp scholarships, the locations and dates will be announced soon, Canning said.
At a news conference Saturday outside the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA in southeastern San Diego, Fletcher was joined by Mark Stuart, president and CEO of the San Diego Foundation, and Baron Herdelin-Doherty, president and CEO of YMCA of San Diego County.
"As a direct result of this support from Supervisor Fletcher and the San Diego Foundation, the YMCA will be able to get summer camp up and running more quickly," Herdelin-Doherty said. "We're working through this new normal and finalizing the details of how to reopen our doors and run summer camp in the safest way possible."
"To get San Diegans back to work and start our economic recovery, workers must have safe, accessible, affordable childcare," Stuart said. "Thank you Supervisor Fletcher for recognizing this vital need, and to YMCA San Diego County for providing this critical program so local families can start rebuilding their lives."
San Diego County officials amended their public health orders last week for schools and childcare to ease restrictions as parents head back to work.