SARASOTA, Fla. — In Sarasota, Girls Inc. is at the peak of summer camp season.
“At this point in the summer, we have about 200 girls in the center on any given day,” according to Nicole Light, the organization’s vice president of program operations.
She said the camps take all the fun parts of a typical school day and layer in educational opportunities for campers.
“Really important skills that sometimes during the summer get neglected a little bit,” Light said. “And then, sometimes students will have a little bit of a difficult transition going back to school. This way they’re getting those skills all year long, and then that way it makes those transitions a little bit easier on them.”
Many of the girls are getting their summer camp experience for free thanks to the Suncoast United Way’s Summer Care scholarships.
“A lot of parents who have their kids in school need something inexpensive in the summer. They’re not having to pay for childcare if their kids are in elementary or middle school. We’re filling that void,” United Way Suncoast chief communications officer Ernest Hooper said.
This year, the organization expanded its summer care program to more than 50 locations as the suggested household income for families is growing, according to United Way’s ALICE report.
“These are ALICE families — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — working hard but still struggling to make ends meet,” United Way Suncoast said on its website. “They live paycheck to paycheck and stand just one unexpected expense away from dire circumstances.”
Across DeSoto, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties, reports indicate that nearly 665,000 households are living below the ALICE threshold.
The most recent data finds that more than $108,000 is barely enough to make ends meet for a Sarasota County family of four needing childcare.
“That’s not annual passes to Disney. That’s not taking your kids out to eat at a fancy restaurant,” Hooper said. “That’s just paying for the basic needs. So the struggle is real.”
In Sarasota County, 42% of households are below the ALICE threshold. The median household income is around $83,000, while the report claims a family survival budget starts at $108,000.
The organization’s partnership with Girls Inc. aims to make sure the kids in this demographic are not forgotten.
“You can’t really measure with the data that we report. How many girls came here? How many activities did they do?” Light said. “It’s the smiles on their faces. It’s their excitement.”
Thanks to a donation from Devan’s Book Club, each camper is sent home with two new books, something organizers hope will help participants reach their literacy goals — especially if there isn’t any room in their parents’ budget to add to their at-home library.