Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in efforts to assure the health and safety of all Missoulans, the 2020 Summer Arts and Leadership Camp has been CANCELLED.

We regret the added stress this is going to cause the Missoula families that rely on this camp year after year. 

Watch this space for referrals to other providers that can meet the needs of families experiencing homelessness. 

Mission: It is the mission of Summer Arts and Leadership Camp to provide safe and structured summer programming, free of charge, to students identified as homeless or at-risk of homelessness in the Missoula community.

Who We Serve: SALC serves students who have been identified as homeless or at-risk of homelessness as defined by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. We provide services to students entering 4th grade through entering 8th grade, roughly ages 8-9 through 14.

Program Description: The Summer Arts and Leadership Camp (SALC) is a cost free summer program for homeless youth and youth at-risk of homelessness in the Missoula community. The children we serve are typically below peer level in academics and social skills and have spent great personal resources coping with transient housing and the attending family and school chaos. We view the campers that participate in our program as strong youth who have overcome many obstacles; they are survivors. The next step is to help youth move from surviving to thriving.

SALC collaborates with the Missoula County Public School District #1 and run out of a local elementary school each summer. SALC provides breakfast and lunch for each student on a daily basis. We also work in conjunction with educators from the Pablo Cultural Center on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation to provide a week of traditional native games and indigenous life ways programming, as approximately 30% of our students are American Indian. We run a variety of activities which include music, fine arts, traditional crafts and outdoor games, with several larger trips such as whitewater rafting, horseback riding, backpacking and rock climbing. Our focus over the last 24 years has been the expansion of our students.

Special Thanks To:

  • Flagship Project Youth Development Coordinators
  • Missoula County Public Schools Counselors
  • Family Resource Center Staff
  • RDC Summer Food Programs
  • Missoula Food Bank – Kid’s Cafe Program
  • International Rescue Committee

Special Thanks to Program Funders:

  • Bon Iver’s 2AB Foundation,

  • Lucky’s Market, Bags For Change Program

  • Missoula Fencing Association

  • Northwestern Energy

  • O.P. & W.E. Edwards Foundation

  • Margaret V. Ping Foundation

  • Cadeau Foundation

  • Engelhard Foundation

 

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