EATONVILLE, Fla. – Children Enriched with Opportunity is actively enrolling for its 10-week summer career camp, which aims to show students a world of possibilities and what it takes to achieve their goals.
“We’re not only employment specialists, but we’re mentors to the students that we’re able to work alongside them,” said Mary Davis-Johnson, executive director of Children Enriched with Opportunity.
[Watch video below for details about the free camp]
Davis-Johnson met with News 6 at the Denton Johnson Center in Eatonville, one of the locations for the summer career camp. The nonprofit organization holds programs year-round when school is out, working with 14-year-olds to 21-year-olds on career opportunities, financial literacy, and college or trade school preparation.
“They teach the students not only about balancing their accounts, but also about the monthly bills that they have to pay and expenditures that exist that sometimes students aren’t aware that their parents are paying,” Davis-Johnson explained. “It helps them because we take them through scenarios and then when they’re given a scenario (...) they will choose whether to rent a house or to buy a house or to buy a car, whether it’s new or used or, you know, what expenses they have to pay, if they have families and what they have to add on to it.”
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No matter what path they choose, students leave with more options than they ever imagined possible.
“It’s really it’s an eye opener for the kids,” Davis-Johnson added. “We had students who have done an array of things, and it’s because of a program such as this and being able to pour into them, you know, opportunities that sometimes they haven’t been able to tap into or discover.
They hope to reach more students by partnering with schools to reach children where they are.
“If we’re able to bring our programs into schools and make it more accessible to the students, because then they’re in the neighborhoods where the students actually reside, and then they don’t have to worry about transportation issues and some of those other issues that go along with it,” Davis-Johnson said.
The camp is free and runs from June to August. This summer, they are offering the camp in Eatonville, in Holly Hill in Volusia County and online. They are currently enrolling, but space is limited. To apply, contact Davis-Johnson at 904-303-3193 or at mary.ceo@yahoo.com.
For more information about Children Enriched with Opportunities, click here.