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Summer of Dreams Keeps Kids Fed and Active A Memorial Middle School 6th grader says he's excited to be part of the Summer of Dreams program this year- which is kicking off its fourth year of helping Central Florida homeless kids make it through summer. 12-year old Avery Odums says finding Orlando’s After School All Stars program this year has made a big difference in his difficult life. And now he gets to continue with it when school is out through Fifth Third Bank’s Summer of Dreams program. “I really like the staff because they really help me when I’m feeling down or in a bad mood,” he says. He’s gone from being a D student to an A-B student. And this summer, instead of spending the day alone- he’ll receive 3 meals a day- he’ll get to play sports and he’ll have support. After School All-Stars Executive Director Tyler Chandler says before the Summer of Dreams- summer programs for kids like Avery were extremely limited. “Four years ago I had to chose between Avery and another student and say, who gets the spot, who gets the space?” he says. An estimated 11,000 Central Florida students are considered homeless. Nearly 1500 of them participated in last year’s Summer of Dreams. |
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