College Settlement Partners with Temple University Police for Summer Bike Program During 100th Anniversary Camp Season

College Settlement celebrates the 100th anniversary of their summer camp programs in 2022.

he summer biking program at College Settlement of Philadelphia’s summer camp has been recognized by the American Camp Association with the Eleanor Eelis Award for Program Excellence.

Members of the Temple University Police visited the College Settlement Camp in Horsham on April 21, 2022 in advance of this summer partnership in the Summer Biking Program.

HORSHAM, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES, April 28, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — The College Settlement of Philadelphia, currently celebrating the 100th anniversary of their summer camp programs, today announced a new partnership with the Temple University Police that will enhance the Horsham camp’s summer biking program.

Temple University Police, part of the Temple University Department of Public Safety, has donated 25 new bicycles to College Settlement, and will be sending officers to each session of this summer’s day camps and overnight camps at the Horsham camp grounds to provide bicycle safety and maintenance courses to the children attending camp each week this summer.

“In forming this collaboration with the Temple University Police for our summer biking program, we hope to reach even more of the at-risk children in the North Philadelphia community,” said Terry Dougherty, Executive Director of College Settlement. “That includes their officers training our staff, as well as talking to our campers. The Temple Police officers will be teaching bike safety and bike maintenance, enhancing our long-running summer biking program with their experiences and expertise.”

The 25 new bikes donated by the Temple University Police to College Settlement raises the total of bikes available for use by the campers to 80. Dougherty noted that College Settlement will have a new bike shed ready for the start of this summer’s programs, in which they plan to show older campers how to repair bikes.

“We’re excited to be working with College Settlement in their summer biking program,” said Monica Hankins-Padilla, External Relations Director for Temple’s Department of Public Safety. “We recently launched the new Urban Bike Team program at Temple, working with local children to learn bike safety and training, and they will be going to Horsham this summer to train for a 30-mile bike run as part of the annual “Ben to the Shore” ride. College Settlement’s summer biking program is a wonderful opportunity for the campers to develop biking skills that can be an integral part of their lives going forward.”

The objective of College Settlement’s summer biking program is to ensure that each camper has access to a bike and safety equipment so that they can confidently learn how to ride a bike in various conditions.

“The biking program at the College Settlement summer camps is a vital component of the overall physical activities for our campers,” Dougherty noted. “The biking program offers opportunities for our campers to grow, but it also provides an enormous amount of fun. Biking is a lifetime activity and an important ingredient in promoting a healthy and active lifestyle, which begins at camp and continues at home. It’s one part of our outdoor recreation activities for children who typically do not have easy access to such experiences other than through our programs. We combine these physical activities with our nutrition program offering children healthy foods, and personal development. It all comes together when a camper feels the satisfaction of meeting a new goal, such as completing a course that they did not think they could achieve.”

Dougherty also noted that the American Camp Association previously awarded the College Settlement summer biking program the Eleanor Eelis Award for Program Excellence.

“We place a significant importance on providing young people with experiences that promote self-esteem – for them to respect others and the world, young people must first respect themselves,” said Dougherty. “We believe that College Settlement’s camp environment creates an atmosphere where young people can learn to live, play and work together in harmony.”

Founded in 1922 to serve the children of Philadelphia and their families by providing a healthy outdoor, country experience in the aftermath of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, the mission of College Settlement of Philadelphia and the College Settlement Camps is more vital than ever as the Philadelphia region copes with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Registration for this summer’s day camps and overnight camps, as well as the teen adventure program, is now open through the College Settlement Camp website at http://www.collegesettlement.org. Camp programs begin June 20th.

About College Settlement:

The mission of College Settlement Day and Overnight Camps and the Outdoor School in Horsham is to provide environmental education and camping programs to young people from the greater Philadelphia area – especially those who are economically disadvantaged – in order to foster personal growth and prepare them to make a positive impact on the world. College Settlement now manages 235 acres in Horsham (and over 75 acres in the Poconos north of Bloomsburg) that include over 35 structures, a lake, two swimming pools, an environmental center, a community based farm, and our adventure challenge course – an activity that designed to encourage leadership, communication skills, and social development within a group. Additional information is available at http://www.CollegeSettlement.org.

Jim DeLorenzo
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Terry Dougherty, Executive Director of College Settlement interviewed Feb. 7, 2022.