If you’re looking for some summer fun for your school-aged kids, you might want to check out the array of programs offered by the Wallingford Boys and Girls Club.
The Wallingford Boys and Girls Club summer program features adventure camps, camping trips, and a free afternoon drop-in program. The summer programs start on June 28 and run through August 27, and children between the ages of 5 and 18 are welcome.
If you have a youngster entering Kindergarten in the fall, he/she is eligible to become a WBGC Member and can take part in any of the programs. The membership fee is $15 a year, which starts on September 1 and goes through August 31. Please note in any of the programs described below, the grades listed are those in which your child will attend in the fall.
Summer hours at the Burke 45th Street location are 7 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The free drop-in program begins at noon and goes through 6 p.m. You can use the summer drop-in program anytime, so long as you’re a member. If you need to bring your child in prior to noon, the fee is $25 per day, or $95 for the week if you pay on Monday.
Generally, the Club has about 90 members a day, during the summer. The kids are split into age-appropriate groups like K-2 graders and 3-5 graders. Tweens and Teens are in their own groups. Days are more structured for younger kids, and also include field trips during the week that are either $1-2 per member or are completely free. Some of these field trips include afternoons at the Wallingford wading pool (for the younger set), trips to Creation Station, Seattle Center, or the Woodland Park Zoo. These field trips usually have about 20-30 kids, with one female and one male counselor in charge of the group, flanked by 3 or 4 CIT’s (teenage Counselors in Training). Field trips vary week to week and new weekly schedules are posted every Friday for the following week for sign-ups. Field trip spots are limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.
Wallingford Boys and Girls Club also offers “Adventure Camps” for kids in K-5. The camps are available in three different Boys and Girls Club “Child Care” locations at B.F. Day, Sacajawea, and View Ridge (located at the Sand Point Community Church). The Adventure Camp program is divided into 9 weeks and you can choose any week, or all 9 weeks, or even just a few days a week. Each week is a different theme, which takes kids to places like Seattle Center, SAM, Pump it Up, various tide pools, the Renton water park, the Seattle Aquarium, or the Woodland Park Zoo. Camps run from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and spots are still available, though it is first-come, first-served, followed by a wait list, if necessary. The registration fee is the first week paid in full as well as a $25 deposit for each additional week, and a one-time t-shirt fee of $15.
The weekly rate structure for the Adventure Camps is $180 for 4-5 days; $135 for 3 days; $95 for 2 days; and $55 for one day.
Finally, if you have kids in grades 4-9, the Boys and Girls Club offers three different camping trips over the summer. Each trip begins on a Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. and ends by Friday at 5:00 p.m. The fee for the each camp is $180.
July 14-16 – Lake Chelan Campout and Slidewaters Waterpark. Offered to children in grades 6-9.
August 4-6 – Birch Bay Campout and Waterpark. Offered to children in grades 4-5.
August 11-13 Birch Bay Campout and Waterpark. Offered to children in grades 6-9.
Visit the WBGC website: www.wallingfordboysandgirlsclub.org to download a brochure. You’ll find much more information and the registration form for the adventure camps or camping trips. You can also call the Club: 206-547-7261, and if you do, ask to speak with Jen Crispino who was very generous with her time in answering my questions.