News Release
Illinois Students Seventy-five YMCAs throughout Illinois are receiving 9,000 free Brain Quest educational games this summer, courtesy of the JCPenney Afterschool Fund and Workman Publishing. The donation was made in honor of National Summer Learning Day, organized each year by The Center for Summer Learning at The Johns Hopkins University. This year, the event was marked on Thursday, July 14. First to receive the games were more than 500 day campers from Chicago area YMCAs who attended Illinois' Summer Learning Day at the Museum of Science and Industry. The Illinois event was co-sponsored by the YMCA of the USA and the JCPenney Afterschool Fund. Summer Learning Day is designed to showcase the importance of high-quality summer learning opportunities in the lives of young people and their families. Each year, the Center for Summer Learning works with organizations across the country to highlight the critical role summer programs play in sending young people back to school ready to learn; supporting working families; and keeping children safe and healthy. This year, nearly 100 programs in 18 states participated with local festivities. The mission of the Center for Summer Learning is to create high quality summer learning opportunities for all young people. Research shows that on average, young people who are not engaged in constructive learning opportunities are at risk of losing more than two months of academic performance over the summer months. Research also shows that reading books and participating in high-quality summer programs can prevent these summer learning losses from happening. "Summer learning programs like those provided by the YMCA send young people back to school ready to learn, support working families, and keep children safe and healthy," said Ron Fairchild, executive director of the Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins. For information, contact Amy Cowles at (443) 287-9960 or Ron Fairchild at (410) 516-6221. A high resolution digital photo of YMCA campers using the Brain Quest games is available for downloading at ftp://anonymous:ftp@jhdams.jhu.edu/Events/Johns_Hopkins/ Johns_Hopkins_Event/Public_Affairs/ Communications_and_Public_Affairs,_Homewood/ News_and_Information/Amys_photos/. To access the photo, click on the folder labeled "YMCA."
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