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Youth from the Valiquette Foundation\u2019s summer camp, playing chess amongst each other on Friday July 24, 2026. (Corinne Boyer, CityNews)<\/p>\nA summer camp Montreal\u2019s C\u00f4te-des-Neiges-NDG borough in is turning traditional summer camp activities by adding academics to its curriculum to empower underrepresented youth.<\/p>\n
Camp Valiquette offers a healthy dose of academics to their arts and sports programming.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt varies from age groups, five and six and seven and eight, they mostly play, just relax, just chill,\u201d explains Geneva Ricamonte, instructor, animator & head of camp, Valiquette Academy.<\/p>\n
\u201cNine plus, they start off strong, they start off with the typing course and even chess to work their minds in quickly early in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Youth from the Valiquette Foundation\u2019s summer camp, playing chess amongst each other on Friday July 24, 2026. (Corinne Boyer, CityNews)<\/p>\n
Camp\u2019s founder Jay Valiquette says the youth learn general knowledge for half an hour every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur kids know the NATO alphabet and continents and oceans and planets, and then our finance section, where we\u2019re top three rules for finances. What is ROI? What is an asset? What is liability? And it continues,\u201d Valiquette said.<\/p>\n
In addition to the summer camp, Valiquette Academy offers winter and March break camps, after-school French & English courses and coding courses.<\/p>\n
Valiquette has also started a foundation which undertakes several community outreach initiatives.<\/p>\n
Lionel Jaye Mendez Fox who volunteers at the academy says the camp also offers reduced prices.<\/p>\n
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Founder & director of The Valiquette Foundation, Jay Valiquette, speaking with CityNews about all of the iniatives they currently have in place to help youth and their families. (Corinne Boyer, CityNews)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a summer camp, yes, we are doing tutoring for kids,\u201d Fox said. \u201cBut all of that is like a charity at the end of the day because he even gives discounts for like single mothers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valiquette said the foundation also works with CLSCs, youth centres and churches in the area to offer their programs more children at discounted rates or for free.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of our community outreach is that we hold a Halloween party. We\u2019ve got a great Christmas party where we have over 100 people come. There are toys for the kids. All the rooms are different. It\u2019s just fun,\u201d explained Valiquette.<\/p>\n
The foundation also offers other services such as resume preparation, volunteer and employment opportunities and certifications with universities for youth in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also here to make sure they succeed in life and they get a nice job of really packed CV and they get enough experience to make sure they go and push it through in life in general,\u201d says Rodrigo Rivera Soto, who also works at the academy.<\/p>\n
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Valiquette Foundation volunteer, Lionel Jaye Mendez Fox testing youth aged between 7 and 9 years old on their general knowledge. (Corinne Boyer, CityNews)<\/p>\n
Ricamonte says youth should take advantage of the programs to help them succeed and grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cEver since I\u2019ve been part of this foundation, I\u2019ve grown a lot and I believe that all the other teens and children should take this opportunity,\u201d Ricamonte added.<\/p>\n
However, offering these services come at a cost and the academy relies on funding to keep them going.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe absolutely need support from people so we can continue these programs, expand these programs, and not let any child fall through the cracks for simple lack of funding,\u201d Valiquette said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a big believer that you\u2019ve got to make the world a better place. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any better way to do it than helping children through education.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tYouth from the Valiquette Foundation summer camp, pose together in NDG’s Van Horne Parc on Friday July 25, 2026. (Corinne Boyer, CityNews) <\/p>\n
\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n
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