..four words that often send a shiver down the spines of working parents; but thanks to the YHA, summer sun means kids can have fun during a week-long Do it 4 Real activity break.

And what’s more it doesn’t cost the earth.

Thanks to £11.5m support from the Big Lottery Fund, the Do
It 4 Real camps cost just £25-£100 for 11-17 year olds that have not done Do it 4 Real before. There are also places for those that did Do it 4 Real last year for £325. The price includes all activities, accommodation and food as well as most travel costs.

Kids can get away with the YHA to 37 to locations across the country between 23rdJuly and 2nd September and the camps offer a wide range of activities such as dance, music and singing, water sports, environmental action and survival skills.

Do it 4 Real’s Promotions Manager Ben Rossi said, “Our range of creative, outdoor and sporting activities ensures there is something to suit all tastes and offers young people a chance to make new friends, try something new or develop an existing skill in a fun, yet safe environment.’

FAMILIES ON LOW INCOMES WELCOME
Juggling the needs of children and work responsibilities during the school holidays can be very stressful particularly for single parents Families on low incomes can send their child to a Do it 4 Real Camp for £25 if they are in receipt of free school meals or if they are on income support or council tax/housing benefit.

The YHA believes that Do it 4 Real provides an 'everyone wins scenario' and one that is really catching on here; summer camps have long been in existence in the USA, where parents tend to have a much smaller holiday allowance than their UK counterparts.

Young people love to meet others from different backgrounds and many that did Do it 4 Real in 2005 kept in touch via email and MSN after returning home. Ben Rossi continued, “Summer camps can be a good way of breaking down cultural and ethnic barriers as young people are
put into groups and engaged in all kinds of team building exercises that encourage them to make new friends and try new things together.”

‘The role of our camp counsellors is often key to young people’s enjoyment and many praised the supportive and meaningful role they played during their time away.”

HEALTHY CURE FOR THE SUMMETIME BLUES
Do it 4 Real Camps that offer performing arts, sports and the many outdoor activities such as survival skills and orienteering engaged young people in regular healthy exercise, something high on many parents’ agendas. Ben concluded, “The sense of achievement and new-found
independence shared by those visiting camp last year was palpable from our exit-questionnaires and the many, many than you letters we received. Kids can try…
Watersports at Croft Farm (Gloucestershire)
Environmental Action at Danywenallt (Wales), Juniper Hall (Sussex) and Ivinghoe (Bedfordshire)
Film and Photography at Hampstead Heath,
London Performing Arts at Holland House, London
Sports Active at Howells (North Wales)
Multi activity at Okehampton (Devon)
Superweeks at Holmbury (Surrey)
… to name but a few of the excting range of activites on offer
for Summer 2006