Smithtown Youth Center Launches Summer Reading Program

St. Patrick Youth, a youth community center in Smithtown, recently finished renovations on its gymnasium for the summer camp season, and will offer a summer reading program in addition to its day camp.

St. Patrick Youth, a community center based in Smithtown, completed renovations to its multipurpose gymnasium last month in preparation for the summer season. Restorations to the space include new flooring, fresh paint, and some surface remodeling. The recent makeover is good news for the center’s summer basketball leagues, which are held in the revamped building. The space is also used for dances and various summer camp functions.   

The community center is also launching a summer reading program for kids ages 4-9. Youth administrator Cindy Marsh, whose background is in teaching, says that the program was created to help kids build and maintain reading skills. For a few hours a day during the week, children are invited to the center for activities such as crafts and story time. A start date for the reading program has not yet been announced.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary this summer, St. Patrick Youth’s seven-week camp program will begin June 29 and is split into a kiddie camp (ages 3-5), main camp (ages 6-12), and teen camp (ages 13-15), five days a week from 9am-4pm. On-site activities at the camp include science, art, music, sports, and dance. Once a week, parents are invited to watch a talent show put together by the kids.

Campers go on multiple trips weekly to destinations such as Splish Splash, Adventureland, and Fire Island. Older campers take field trips to nearby cities to visit museums and other cultural attractions, and teen campers will also have supervised overnight trips, Marsh says.

Registration is currently available on St. Patrick Youth’s website.

Above photo: Last summer, St. Patrick Youth campers traveled to Brookhaven Ecology Center.

Photo by Jaclyn Lazio