The 2023 Welles Village Activity Council for Youth Summer Program was a huge success!
We had 32 resident attendees, which includes 7 high school aged youth leaders. The program was facilitated by 2 full-time Youth and Family Services clinicians, Brianna Johnson and Jeanne Theleen. Three seasonal staff are also hired to help support the programming, including 2 young adults that have grown up attending the WACY summer programming themselves.
The WACY summer program provided a number of activities for the youth residents including field trips to local and state parks and amusements such as Sonny’s Place, Urban Air, and Sparetime. The youth also enjoyed surprise activities at the housing building including an inflatable water slide, obstacle course, face painting and balloon animals by local artists. While not every day was action packed, some of their favorite memories are the lively games of “Knee Tag”, flag football, and basketball led by our leaders and staff. The arts and crafts, cooking activities, and bracelet making were some of the other highlights enjoyed by the participants.
The program is also grateful for the support of our Glastonbury community partners, the Police Department, Fire Department, Parks and Recreation, and Transportation. Of course, the generosity and patience of the Housing Authority Staff is greatly appreciated for allowing us to use the building space, and having a high-volume tolerance, for many memories to be made.
Breakfast and lunch were provided by Community Renewal Team for all the children to enjoy healthy summer meals each day.
As a thank you to our volunteer youth leaders and staff, we are excited to be able to provide them with a retreat to Lake Compounce to enjoy a day of fun and continued bonding.