St. Catherine’s, SPAC renew summer program partnership

Recently, St. Catherine’s Center for Children and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s School of the Arts announced that they will partner, for the second year in a row, to offer children the opportunity to attend an arts and recreation summer camp.

In 2022, in the first year of this partnership, the summer camp program hosted 35 Capital Region children, including 20 from St. Catherine’s residential program which serves children who have been removed from their homes and have experienced significant trauma in their life. SPAC anticipates an increase in attendance this year through additional partnerships with Capital District Latinos, the Franklin Community Center, and the Saratoga Springs City School District.

“This partnership is wonderful for the children St. Catherine’s serves,” said Frank Pindiak, Executive Director of St. Catherine’s Center for Children, in a press release. “The SPAC Arts and Parks camp allows us an opportunity to introduce our children to new possibilities. In some cases, this offering sparks an interest a child never knew they had; in other cases, we discover that the arts provide a coping mechanism for children dealing with the fallout of traumatic experiences.

“Either way, it’s a win-win scenario and we are thrilled to renew this partnership with SPAC.”

“SPAC’s mission for the past seven years has been to foster greater equity and access to enriching educational experiences and performances for individuals who are unable to participate,” said Dennis Moench, Vice President of Education at SPAC, “and we are grateful for our relationships with other non-profit organizations like St. Catherine’s who make these programs possible.”

This three-week, half-day summer program, offered in concert with New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, provides highly interactive arts education classes and recreational field trips to local state parks. Children in attendance will be introduced to a variety of art forms, including: acting, improv, dance, group ukulele, puppetry and visual art.

The field trip portion of the program includes wilderness walks, guided nature activities, and hands-on environmental science lessons. This year, participants will visit Moreau Lake State Park, Thacher State Park, and of course, Saratoga Spa State Park. The camp runs through July 14, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

“At St. Catherine’s, we aim to offer a variety of educational and recreational opportunities for our children,” said Molly Gruss, Recreation & Engagement Supervisor at St. Catherine’s. “The SPAC summer camp provides interactive opportunities that encourage our children to come out of their shells and find something they are passionate about. We are so grateful to Jess Bien and Dennis Moench for building this incredible program and we’re thrilled to continue our partnership.”

Members of the teams at both St. Catherine’s and SPAC agreed that the program proved successful for the children that attended, including a student who spent the first few days without speaking or participating. By the end of the program, that same student volunteered to perform a song for the camp that they had written during their time with the program. The song’s lyrics spoke directly to the child’s past experiences, the extreme challenges they faced, and how they overcame very difficult circumstances. The entire camp was in tears at the end of the performance, applauding in celebration of this incredible breakthrough as that child beamed with pride. The staff expressed its belief that this program allowed the child to find happiness again.

This summer program is funded by the New York State Parks “Connect Kids to Parks” grant program, as well as generous SPAC supporters Michael and Stacie Arpey. The SPAC School of the Arts is made possible with the generous support of Stewarts Shops and the Drake Family. St. Catherine’s Center for Children is able to provide experiences like this due to the generosity of many donors.