Summer Magic At A Place Called Home

At A Place Called Home, the summer months are the busiest time of year for our campus. With local schools on summer break, most kids have nowhere to go during the day and our members rely on APCH to provide a safe space.

So what do we do? We extend our hours to meet the need. During the summer months, A Place Called Home is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Ana Maria Perez-Paulino, our Associate Program Director, shares why this is so important:

“During the school year, our members’ entire day is accounted for within the safe confines of either their school or A Place Called Home for after school programs. In the summer, we see an increase in activity throughout the entire community. It’s not always good activity — we also see an increase in crime and violence. It’s important to provide a safe place for the kids. A place they can always count on.”

Many of our members receive the majority of their nutrition at school, but when summer break arrives, they lose access to those free meals. As part of being a safe haven, APCH provides three meals a day for all members during the summer. This is a significant relief, especially for working parents who know their children are safe, loved, and cared for.

Transformative experiences for our kids

Summer is also a perfect time to expand our members’ borders through fun-filled field trips to the far reaches of Los Angeles county. For many of our boys and girls, these activities are first-time experiences. Many have never ventured outside the radius of their own neighborhoods. Exposure to other communities isn’t just an opportunity to create treasured memories. These experiences help our members dream bigger and shape their personal vision for the future. 

This summer, APCH provided more than 70 unique field trip experiences to our members for FREE. This is only possible through the generous support of our individual donors, corporate partners and volunteers. 

Perez-Paulino shares:

“These experiences are transformative. Last summer, when we took a group of kids to the beach, one of our older teenagers did the biggest leap into the sand and just frolicked. I wouldn’t have expected this from a teenager. But then I learned this was her first time at the beach. Some would find that surprising because we live in southern California, but access for our families is an issue. And they just aren’t able to experience things so many of us take for granted. It was a life-changing moment for this teenager to revel in touching the ocean and sand.”

We work to create an inspiring, even magical, environment for our kids and families every day of the year. But there’s something even more special about the summer months at A Place Called home — where days are filled with new, eye-opening experiences that create lifelong memories.

Are you interested in being a part of all the fun and amazing experiences at A Place Called Home? Then get involved!

You can start here.