Summer Day Takes Children
“Around the World in 40 Days”

If you stop by Fourth Presbyterian Church on a July weekday, you will find more than 120 children from low-income families “traveling” around the world with this year’s Summer Day program. With the theme of “Around the World in 40 Days,” Summer Day is giving students the opportunity to explore diverse cultures through history, language, geography, food, and art. The participants, who began their “journey” on June 18, are also benefiting from full-time computer lab instruction, world music and instrument instruction, and time with a social worker from DePaul Mental Health.

This program gives these children a head start on the fall semester through their involvement in six weeks of fine arts, academic classes, and field trips. They also will have the opportunity not only to experience Lookingglass Theatre’s reprise of the fantastic Lookingglass Alice but also to perform on Lookingglass’s professional stage.

Thanks to a fund-raising paddle-raiser at the 2007 Mission Benefit that met a generous challenge grant from the Andrew Family Foundation, Chicago Lights raised the necessary funds to move Summer Day from its usual four-week format to a six-week program. This provides significant new benefits for children and their parents, including instruction from partners Ravinia Festival, Rock for Kids, and Free Arts of Illinois.

For more information, contact Sarah Tribuzio, Program Director, at stribuzio@fourthchurch.org (312.981.3563).