Some 500 children are back on campus this summer for United Way of Santa Barbara County’s free 2024 Fun in the Sun summer learning program that runs for six weeks, June 17-Aug. 2, on campuses from Guadalupe to Carpinteria.

Three kids wearing bright yellow Fun in the Sun camp shirts stand with their arms around each other for a snapshot. (Courtesy photo)
Students make new friends at Fun In The Sun, a free six-week summer learning program. (Courtesy photo)

For 27 years, the organization has been providing families with its national award-winning summer program, offering daily literacy and math practice, hands-on STEAM and enrichment activities, field trips, and outdoor play and activities, United Way said.

The full-day program has become a key community resource for families throughout the county who may struggle to find accessible and enriching learning programs for students to keep up key literacy and social enrichment skills over the summer months, according to United Way of Santa Barbara County.

“We depend on our partners to help us move the learning of students forward,” said Diana Rigby, superintendent at Carpinteria Unified School District.

“Come fall, it is very clear which students have participated in Fun in the Sun, because those students are prepared to enter the next grade level with strong academic skills as well as really good social skills to be able to interact with their peers in appropriate ways in the classroom,” she said.
 
Fun in the Sun earning an award in 2012 from the National Summer Learning Association in recognition of its consistent achievement of academic outcomes for participants.

In addition to boosting academics, the program provides daily meals and snacks, community field trips, swimming and biking lessons, and social-emotional learning curriculum.

There are also parent workshops and a Leaders-in-Training track for high-school students, offering leadership development, mentorship opportunities, and college and career exploration and campus visits.
 
“This is a special year for these students,” said Frances Contreras, director of Programs and Partnerships at United Way. “The expansion happening this year represents decades of dedicated partners that have united through this program with a shared and inspiring focus on the next generation of our community.”

In recent years, Fun in the Sun has also grown into a community partner hub, welcoming United Way’s network of service agency and nonprofit partner organizations on campus to serve students and their families.

Agencies such as Assistance League of Santa Barbara, Hospice of Santa Barbara, and Family Service Agency work alongside United Way to connect families with the resources for building a stronger foundation for the students at home.

At the request of local school districts, United Way expanded the 2024 program to serve new grade levels (transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade), on top of its existing demographic of second-grade to sixth-grade pupils.

The majority of the expansion, which will increase the program’s service capacity by nearly 100 additional students, will take place at the program’s campuses in Carpinteria and Guadalupe, United Way said.

Carpinteria Unified School District and Guadalupe Union School District are both working with United Way to integrate the organization’s full suite of district companion programs, including Fun in the Sun summer learning program; United Learning Center tutoring program; and the Bridge the Break program, which provides free one-week spring and winter break programming to families within the partnering school district.
 
“We cannot do this alone,” said Rigby. “On behalf of our students and families, we would like to thank all the supporters of United Way and the Fun in the Sun program; we could not do it without this partnership.”
 
Community members and supporters can get involved through the Lunch Bunch on-campus volunteer mentoring program, or support networks like Women United, a membership that supports Fun in the Sun through fundraising and volunteer opportunities for the program each year.
 
For current program information for enrolled students, or to learn more about the opportunity for students and upcoming volunteer activities, visit www.unitedwaysb.org/FITS.
 
Learn more about United Way of Santa Barbara County at unitedwaysb.org.