For Immediate Use

DATE: April 5, 2004

CONTACT: Rosanna Condello

585.292.3024, FAX: 585.292.3060

Ronald McDonald House and QUAD A for Kids Renew Support of Annual Sports Camp for Inner-city Youth

ROCHESTER – Inner-city families who look forward to the annual National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) hosted by Monroe Community College (MCC) have a reason to smile with the news that two area foundations will renew a combined total of $22,500 in grant support. The grants from Quad A for Kids and Ronald McDonald House Charities will help cover camp scholarships and essential services provided by the NYSP from June 28 – July 30, 2004 at MCC’s Brighton Campus.

The NYSP, established in 1970 at MCC, is a structured sports and educational camp which enables over 400 boys and girls, ages 9 through 15, to participate in organized athletic instruction, personal development and educational activities for five weeks during the summer.

For the third year in a row, Quad A for Kids contributed $10,000 for student scholarships to attend the camp as well as breakfast and lunch services. Established in 1994, Quad A for Kids is dedicated to reducing juvenile social problems and improving the life prospects of economically disadvantaged children in Rochester through community-based athletic and artistic programs that reinforce academic performance and encourage personal achievement. Quad A for Kids recently recognized the NYSP at MCC with its annual Gold Star Award.

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Ronald McDonald House Charities of Rochester, N.Y. (RMHC) contributed $12,500 to once again cover the medical and athletic training components of the NYSP. In June, program participants receive a free medical examination prior to the start of the camp. Potentially serious conditions are often discovered during the course of the medical examinations and during camp sessions. Health conditions identified and monitored by medical staff include allergies, asthma, dental and vision problems, heart abnormalities and obesity.

Through the support of the RMHC grant, the camp is also able to successfully serve children who are hearing impaired, blind or physically challenged. RMHC provides lodging, emotional support and comfort to families of children receiving medical treatment at area hospitals and reaches out to families in the community with support for other children’s programs.

The NYSP continues to recognize MCC as being among its top project performers, based on the number of children served and its high return rate as compared with the nearly 200 colleges and universities that run similar programs across the country. The MCC program is consistently recognized for developing cooperative games and for serving USDA approved breakfasts and lunches daily to participants.

For more information on MCC’s National Youth Sports Program, please call 585.292.2830. Applications will be available in May.

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Editor’s Note: Mary Andrecolich-Diaz, assistant principal of Thomas Jefferson Middle School, also serves as activity director for the NYSP at MCC. She can be reached at 585.458.2280. Bruce “Murph” Shapiro, director of Athletics at MCC, can be reached directly at 585.292.2831.

Over 60 percent of all part-time students living in Monroe County attend MCC, making MCC the college of choice in Monroe County for part-time students.