By Jeff Ophime

Arts Center Director

Last month our Summer Fine Arts Camps kicked off with almost 40 young students in each camp from all ten elementary schools in Colquitt County. The camps are running for four weeks with a variety of themed activities planned for each week. This art camp is made possible through a grant from United Way of Colquitt County. By working with the United Way and the administration of our elementary schools, we are able to offer scholarships to one hundred well-deserving and talented students that may not otherwise be able to participate in this wonderful arts program. I am very pleased that the first two weeks were filled to capacity.

The camps are open to everyone for a fee of $80 for the first child and $70 for each additional child in the family. This includes all art supplies, breakfast, lunch and a snack. The camps run Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Early drop-off with breakfast provided starts at 7:45 a.m. and late pick-up is until 5:45 p.m. each day. There are still openings available for the camps that run July 13-17 and July 20-24. Each week will be filled with art projects and a theatre production that parents and family members can attend on the last day of camp.

What I love about these camps and all of our art programs is that anyone can participate and excel at their own pace. Our Arts Center activities are incredible opportunities for kids (and adults) to develop their talents and sometimes discover hidden abilities that they never knew they had. This can open up a new world of personal enrichment and pleasure.

I am very proud of the children that are participating in our summer camp and I appreciate the parents who bring them to the arts center and pick them up at the end of the day.

We have discovered several students that are very talented in the camps and I want to be sure that their talents are encouraged. This is a good example of why having scholarships available is so very important. I want to ensure that any student that would like to continue coming to the Arts Center can do so regardless of their economic background. Please contact me if you would like to sponsor a student to take any of the many art and music classes that we offer at the Arts Center. We always need scholarship assistance to ensure that anyone who wants to paint, act, dance or sing will be able to do so.

We receive calls every week regarding available scholarships and fortunately we have been able to accommodate most every request. There is no shortage of talented children in our community that enjoy art. We have a wonderful selection of classes for young people to participate in and you can go to www.colquittcountyarts.com to learn more about the art opportunities available this summer. You will find classes for dance, drawing, painting, guitar lessons, a young kids day camp, clay classes, adult and teen art lessons, strings, piano, drums, voice lessons, yoga instruction and more.

The Colquitt County Arts Center is a tool that can be used to build better learning opportunities for young people. Researchers in child development and education know that learning through images, music and dance is critical to the developmental growth of all children. Children involved in arts programs will carry the benefits they receive here at the Arts Center throughout their life.

If you have the means to sponsor a scholarship at $50 a month; they are desperately needed and appreciated. To make a scholarship available to a deserving student please call the arts center at 985-1922. Businesses and organizations can also sponsor a scholarship and I would appreciate the opportunity to come to your workplace to tell you more about the Arts Center. And last but not least, if you are currently sponsoring a scholarship please know that your gift is being put to good use and it is very much appreciated. Thank you!

I have just one more thing that I want to share with you. I stopped by the Colquitt County Humane Society today to drop of aluminum cans that are used to generate revenue for the shelter. There I learned that a record number of animals were put down in the month of June. This is a result of human ignorance and neglect! Please do your part to stop this horrible abuse of innocent animals and support our local shelter for all the good they do. To quote Bob Barker “Please have your pets spayed or neutered.” The shelter has beautiful dogs, puppies, cats and kittens with limitless love to give in exchange for a good home. I guess that you could say that they need a scholarship too.