The Strand Village Project #thrive will offer three free youth camps on Mondays beginning this month. The #thrive program is coming off a successful two years of hosting camps for local youth in a range of topics such as robotics, graphic design, theater, art, drones and music. Camps were first offered in January 2022.
The Spring 2024 camp line-up includes a new art camp – Painting & Drawing: Learn to Draw People in Action, which will be held in both Jena and Urania. Get Active Camp, a brand-new offering for youth, will also be held in Jena. Registration is currently open at www.agreaterlasalle. com with a limited number of spots available.
“With the school system’s four-day week, we felt it was an ideal time to offer out-of-school learning opportunities on Mondays through the #thrive program,” Cynthia Cockerham, Executive Director of Community Development for the LaSalle Economic Development District (LEDD), said. “There’s been community input from parents that this is a great opportunity to engage youth in out-of-school educational programming. We are excited to meet this need and continue to expand in this new direction through the #thrive program.”
This community development project of LEDD is funded in part by a Substance and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program Grant from The Rapides Foundation and has two components: after-school and summer programs for youth and Families FIRST Academy workshops, which offer fun family tune-ups for families with children ages 7 to 17 and utilizes the Strengthening Families Program curriculum. (For more information about Families FIRST Academy, visit www.agreaterla- salle.com)
As part of each #thrive camp lesson, the coaches at each site will also teach a short lesson from the NaturalHigh.org curriculum. Natural High is a drug prevention nonprofit that inspires and empowers youth to find their natural high and develop the skills and courage to live life well.
Get Active Camp
The #thrive Get Active Camp for 4-12th grade students will be held at the Jena Town Park from 1 to 4 p.m. on Mondays, January 22 to March 11, 2024. Base camp will be the skating rink.
This camp provides a great opportunity for youth to take part in healthy eating and active living activities such as basketball, volleyball, roller skating, soccer, Wiffle ball and more.
The instructor is Jenny M. Parker, the parish D.A.R.E. Officer, and the site coach is Renee Evans.
Enrollment is free, but space is limited to 20 participants. Youth are encouraged to attend all sessions.
Painting & Drawing Camps The #thrive Arts Painting & Drawing: People in Action Camps for 5-12th grade students will be held in both Jena and Urania from January 29 to March 25 with no class on February 19.
These camps are a great opportunity for youth to learn the basics of proportion and drawing action figures by hand. The Jena location will also utilize iPad Pros.
The instructor for both camps will be longtime art teacher Kim Aldrich. Site Coach for Urania will be Cheryl Otwell and for Jena will be Holly Grant.
The Jena camp will be every Monday, 9 a.m. to noon, from January 29 to March 25 (excluding February 19) at the LEDD Office (1850B Second Street) in Jena.
The Urania camp will be every Monday, 2 to 5 p.m., from January 29 to March 25 (excluding February 19) at the Urania Rec Hall in Urania.
Enrollment is free, but space is limited to 20 participants per camp. Youth are encouraged to attend all sessions.
To register for any of the spring camps, visit www.agreaterlasalle. com or email info@agreaterlasalle. com for more information.
