PAMPLICO — Pamplico for 11 years has offered a summer of fun and learning for its children, who, along with parents and volunteers, hope the tradition won’t end with the passing of this season.
“I would miss it,” 13-year-old Ranetra Stuckey said after Friday’s closing ceremony for the Town of Pamplico Summer Program.
Town councilwoman Cynthia Parks, who has run the summer program since 1997, said she has decided she can’t continue with the program because of workload and time issues.
“I love all of you,” Parks told the children during Friday’s closing ceremony, adding that she hopes to continue working with them in other ways.
An average of 40 to 50 children per day attended this year’s summer program, which ran from June 9 to July 22 at Pee Dee Baptist Church in Pamplico, Parks said.
From 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day, children from ages 7 to 17 practiced arts and crafts, tested their word knowledge in spelling bees and learned test-taking skills to help them in school, Parks said.
They also went to the movies and traveled to Columbia, where they visited Riverbanks Zoo and the S.C. State Museum, she said.
Ranetra, who has participated in the summer program for at least five years, said she most appreciates the guidance on “how to treat people” that the program has given her.
Sharon Graham said attending the program has been a “joyful occasion” for her 12-year-old granddaughter, Sheroneka Graham.
“It’s hope for our kids and the community,” she said.
Mona Jones, an adviser with the program, said she became involved after her children attended the activities in previous summers.
“It’s been real rewarding for me just working with the program. ... I love children, and I love seeing them do positive things,” she said.
Along with the summer program, the town also offered breakfast and lunch for children and youths as old as 17, an endeavor Parks also hopes will continue.
Parks began working with the summer program in 1997, before she served on council. She said she was attending a town council meeting and volunteered when the late Mayor Dozier Munn asked for someone to lead the program.
At that time, Pamplico had received a U.S. Justice Department grant to prevent juvenile delinquency that brought the town $35,000 in its first year and more than $20,000 in the second year, Parks said.
Parks said she’ll help anyone who wants to take over and continue the program.
Anyone who is interested should call Pamplico Town Hall at (843) 493-5551 and speak to Mayor Gene Gainey, Parks said.
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