By BRANDON LATHAM
The Jaffrey-Rindge Quest program will complete its sixth installment this week, bringing kids from the school district together for a summer camp experience at Franklin Pierce University.
Ninety sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders are on the campus to fill their long summer days with academics, sports, crafts, music and countless other valuable experiences.
“For a lot of families, summer can be a challenging time to find engaging activities for kids,” says Tonya Albee, Quest chairperson, who began the program in 2010.
Four days a week through the month of July, the Jaffrey-Rindge district middle-schoolers convene at FPU. When Albee began the initiative, Jim O’Neill and James Birge were on her steering committee, part of the Rotary Club.
O’Neill, then the superintendent of the Jaffrey-Rindge School District, said he could find interested students. Birge, then the president of Franklin Pierce, said he could give them space on the campus. Both men have moved on, but the program endures as it was founded.
“We wanted to do more service projects in the community,” Albee said.
Quest is a community endeavor. It is funded through donations and serviced by volunteers. Albee said it costs $45,000 to hold the camp, but is completely free for the students. Among those students is Elise Rogers.
“My favorite part of camp is probably hanging out with my friends who come here,” she said. “The activities you learn you can bring home to play with other people.”
On Friday, all 90 campers will finish the summer session with a trip to Kimball Farm in Westford, Massachusetts. By the time they are done with this experience, they will have learned instruments, prepared meals, petted animals, and even flown a plane.