Luckily, the local Salvation Army has a ready — and affordable — answer to that dilemma.

The Salvation Army will once again hold it's Boys and Girls Club of America summer camp program beginning June 9, providing child care services to area families from 8 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

According to Capt. Linda Keeney, there have been some changes made to the program since last year's term, changes she and the rest of the Salvation Army staff are very excited about.

“This year we're going to have a theme for each week during the Kids Club,” said Keeney. “For example, one of our weeks is a 'Green Week,' where we're going to teach the kids ways they can help save the environment. We'll talk about recycling, conserving water and a number of other topics. We're also going to have a chemistry week, where the kids will get the chance to gets some hands-on experience with simple chemistry stuff. We're very excited about it.”

Unfortunately, according to Keeney, some of the changes to the program this year won't be as popular as the theme weeks, but are simply necessary to make the program a success.

“The fees will be different this year,” said Keeney. “We'll be charging $15 a month per child for the club. We plan to use the school system as much as possible for the lunches, but our two biggest costs are staff and food, and they really killed us last year. However, if the new fee puts an extreme hardship on a family, they can come in and talk to us and we'll work something out.

“This year we're also going to have to limit the number of children participating to 75. Last year we just had so many children, it was too many for our current facilities. We want to be safety conscious, and it's so hard to maneuver in the building, and that could present a fire hazard.”

Keeney said the Salvation Army is planning a special activity for each Friday during the summer that should help keeps the kids cool, despite the heat.

“Fridays the parents are going to drop their kids off at the city swimming pool, located in Comanche Trail park,  instead of the Salvation Army office,” said Keeney. “The kids will be able to swim from 1 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. All we ask is the parents sign the kids in when they get there, that way we can have an accurate count of the children participating. There's no extra fee, and the children's admission to the pool is covered. Our office will be closed during that time because all of the staff will be at the pool, and it will be closed prior to 1 p.m. as well.”

Keeney said they will also be starting a special program for the program's teens this year.

“We call it 'Reality Check.' We're going to teach the teens some of the things they need to survive in the world today, like how to balance a checkbook, make budgets and financial things like that,” said Keeney. “One of the projects we're going to have for them is a budgeting exercise where they have to take $10 and pay for a meal for six people. It should really help open their eyes to what it's like trying to budget and stretch funds in the world.”

Keeney said sign-up for the club is under way now.

“Sonnet Hildebrand is the new director for the program,” said Keeney. “You can catch her here at our office — located at 811 W. Fifth Street — between 10 a.m. and noon, and again between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. She will take the applications.”

Keeney said the program doesn't just end with the summer, however.

“Just like last year, the club will continue through the school year as well,” said Keeney. “During the school year it's open from 3:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. It's a lot of fun for the kids, and a big help for parents that can't afford other child care.”

For more information on the program, call 267-8239.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it