Fundraising ‘plunge’ will help area kids go to summer camp

TORRINGTON — The icy waters of the pond at Camp Moe won't stop teams of hardy jumpers from taking a plunge to raise money for children's summer camp.

The event benefits The Kids of Summer foundation, which provides money to underprivileged children in the Torrington area, allowing them to attend to summer camp.

Jon Sheaffer, founder of The Kids of Summer, started the nonprofit because he remembers how hard it was to pay for camp when he was young.

“If a family has three or four children, it's a lot of money to sent them to summer camp, so they can have that experience,” said Sheaffer, who will attend this year's event. Teams dress up, and costumes are always encouraged. He says he'll be wearing one, too.

To date, about 80 people have organized themselves into teams. “It's up from last year,” Sheaffer said. “I'm not sure if we'll make our goal (of $40,000), but every donation helps. It's an ambitious goal, but we're close to $30,000 now.”

Participating teams are from Northwest Community Bank,

Torrington Savings Bank and Thomaston Savings Bank, Pria Heathcare and Applebees; those organizations are also sponsors, along with Sheaffer & Co. First World Mortgage, Hair By Design, Green Blue Foundation, Max Transportation, Little Red Barn Brewers, the Torrington Fire Department, Tier 1 Real Estate, The Tipsy Pig, KMS Landscaping, Enclave Grill, DAX, Kash & Liv, and Hillview Property Maintenance. It's the support of these organizations that continues to inspire Sheaffer.

“Last year, we were able to fund more than 300 weeks of camp for kids,” he said. “We also began a summer enrichment initiative last year, and people are already asking us to do it again.

“We had local teachers visit camp sessions and taught them to build ‘splero-bots,' where the kids build a vehicle that's propelled by balloons. They built their own vehicles and learned to program them using (computer) tablets. Another teacher put on a Science Olympics. So we're bringing these immersive programs into the camp program; they don't have enough staff for programs, so this helps a lot,” he said. “We're trying to serve more kids with

more activities and camp scholarships.”

Along with helping children attend Camp Moe, now operated by the Northwestern Connecticut YMCA, The Kids of Summer provides funding for children to attend Torrington and Winsted Parks and Recreation's summer programs, Camp Mohawk, the

Litchfield Jazz Camp and Camp Chase.

Residents are always welcome to come to the plunge and cheer for the teams as they leap into the icy water. “Come on down and check it out,” Sheaffer said. “It's a lot of fun.”

The third Plunge at Camp Moe is set for Feb. 18 at the camp

on Brandy Hill Road. Teams can register at 9 a.m. and plunges begin at 9:30 a.m. Teams are still welcome to sign up and must choose a time slot to keep them moving. The rain or snow date is Feb. 19.

To register a team, visit thekidsofsummer.org; to donate, go to https://bit.ly/3YJTf7s .

Kids of Summer / Contributed photo Teams of employees from agencies and companies around Torrington are participating in a “plunge” at Camp Moe in Torrington Feb. 18, to raise money for Kids of Summer, a not-for-profit that provides money for camp scholarships, bicycles and scooters and other activities and gifts for local children. Above are jumpers from the 2020 event.