FUN IN THE SUN

Since 1997, United Way of Santa Barbara County has provided Fun in the Sun, a national award-winning summer learning collaborative program involving 80 service delivery partners, 20+ funding partners, and over 600 volunteers. Originally designed to address summer learning loss, FITS has expanded its academic curriculum and services to position itself as a holistic space to support students and their families throughout the summer. Enriched with a robust mindfulness program, STEAM activities, mentorship opportunities, environmental education, and field trips, the program offers hundreds of students and families throughout the community with an enriching summer experience.

2022  |  Program Services

2021  |  Results

Why Fun in the Sun?

Local data suggests that parents of students eligible for the Fun in the Sum summer program work on average, 2.2 jobs each. As school lets out for the summer, many parents from low-resource communities struggle to balance an intense workload and lack of resources with the needs of their children. Despite best efforts, many of these children spend the summer alone, without access to learning tools and basic needs that are offered during the traditional school year, like reading help and daily meals and snacks. These students are at the highest risk for summer learning loss, a major contributor to the achievement gap between students from low and high-income households. 

Fun in the Sun provides students and their families with unique and engaging learning experiences to reduce and reverse summer learning loss and narrow the achievement gap, ensuring academic success during the school year and beyond.