Successful summer programs can transform lives by building life-long academic and developmental skills. What works? To find out, let’s take a look at the winners of our 2009 Excellence in Summer Learning Award. 
Bridges to a Brighter Future
Greenville, SC Bridges
to a Brighter Future at Furman University is an engaging academic
enrichment program where low-income, academically promising
students spend four weeks during the summer at Furman University. They
live in dorms and get a taste of college life through a variety of
high-quality classes, life-changing experiences, and fun. A full 100
percent of Bridges participants graduate from high school and 93
percent of them enroll in college — an impressive accomplishment given
that South Carolina has one of the nation’s lowest graduation rates.
"Many
of our students do not have stable home environments,” says Bridges
Director Tobi Swartz. "Coming to a place with structure, three meals a
day, and people who care about them is life-changing." 
Energy Express
West Virginia
West
Virginia University Extension Service’s Energy Express is a literacy
and nutrition program for children in poor rural communities. Energy
Express combats summer learning slide by partnering children with
AmeriCorps members in daily activities such as creating books and
writing and performing in plays. The results show that these
interactive, often arts-based activities help the average child gain
three month’s worth of reading skills. The program also addresses the
nutritional decline experienced by low-income children in the summer by
providing healthy meals twice a day. 
Hasbro Learning Initiative
Western Massachusetts Hasbro
Learning Initiative makes creative use of curriculum and literary
specialists to support a network of about 40 afterschool and summer
programs. A majority of the children come from low-income households
and live in urban or rural communities where quality afterschool and
summer programs are under-funded. By providing the tools to run
high-quality programs, the initiative enhances learning for more than
3,000 children in the Pioneer Valley region of western Massachusetts,
and creates dynamic learning experiences that are both research-based
and fun. | 
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