Fun in the Sun History

Our History: 1997-2011

Since 1997, Fun in the Sun (FITS) has had a number of successes. The following is a brief summary of benchmark successes that describe the progression of the FITS program throughout the years:
 
  • 1997- Approximately 20 children, ages 6-12, are served at Ortega Park in Eastside Santa Barbara.  FITS is originally a drop-in program.
  • 1998- More than 300 children register with waiting lines of parents and children around the block due to funding limits. The program expands to include more field trips to places such as the Sea Center, Greenhouse, Fiesta Parade, weekly use of the pool at Ortega Park, projects at Art from Scrap, and a community service component which included a beach clean-up. The linkage effort is strong and program partner agencies meet periodically during the summer to discuss the program as well as areas for improvement.
  • 1999- Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara becomes lead agency in order to provide greater administrative support, trained staff, and enhanced curriculum. FITS expands services to include Assistance League’s Operation School Bell program, which provided shoes, a pair of socks and underwear, two shirts, two shorts, and a bathing suit for each registered child. Weekly staff meetings are also implemented to discuss concerns regarding the children, as well as plans for upcoming events.  Pre-enrollment becomes required.
  • 2000- FITS grows to serve 150 children. The first program evaluation report is conducted by Kathryn M. O’Brien, Ph.D. The Lunch Bunch volunteer program is also founded to help relieve staff during their lunch hour and integrate more community effort. 300 individuals from 30 companies participate in the effort.
  • 2001- FITS expands to a site in Goleta and increases enrollment to 182 children and families.
  • 2002- FITS expands to serve 215 children and families.
  • 2003- FITS expands to Adams Elementary to serve the Westside Santa Barbara community. Total children served grows to 230. A Counselor in Training (CIT) program is added for youth ages 13-17 to accommodate “FITS Alumni”.
  • 2004- A FITS Program Coordinator position is created by UWSBC. Total number of children served was 240. Character Counts! becomes a fully integrated component of the FITS curriculum.
  • 2005- FITS serves 270 children and families.
  • 2006- More than 220 children and their families enjoy the benefits of FITS.
  • 2007- FITS encounters another milestone, as it expands to include a fourth site in Carpinteria. FITS serves a total of 271 children in grades 1-6 in the general program.  In addition, 25 CITs, entering 7th-10th grades, are selected to assist program leaders.
  • 2008- Marks a FITS record-breaking enrollment. A total of 355 children and families, including 27 CITs, attend FITS.
  • 2009- FITS breaks the record again by serving 364 children and youth.  A FITS Methods and Procedures manual, online and in print, is developed to help with training and quality of the FITS program.  The FITS website is also developed to help with FITS staff communication and consistency throughout all sites.
  • 2010- FITS is one in 13 schools/organizations nation-wide to be selected to win a competitive grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service-Learn and Serve America that expands programming to  integrate a service-learning component (FITS-Summer of Service) for middle school students (incoming 6th-9th graders).  This award helps FITS expand into a 5th site in north Santa Barbara County (Guadalupe/Santa Maria).  In addition, FITS-Summer of Service (FITS-SOS) is able to offer $500 college scholarships to qualified FITS-SOS participants.  FITS pilots, for the first time, the Reading Plus program, with a test group, which results in record-breaking literacy improvement results for FITS participants (participants improve an average of 1.8 grade levels). Participants of the FITS-SOS program win the Santa Barbara County Kids Network Youth Award in December 2010.
  • 2011- The National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) selectsFITS as one of the Top Ten finalists for the National Summer Learning Association’s Excellence In Summer Learning Award. FITS partners with Santa Barbara County Education Office to utilize their educational portal, which helps facilitate the incorporation of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum into FITS. The Reading Plus program is launched at all sites for all FITS participants. Those that used Reading Plus see an average improvement of +2.1 grade levels in just 6 weeks. FITS launches its first ever e-news bulletin.
  • 2012- With much research, FITS launches plans to create a three-year development strategy, comprised of improvements in areas like STEM/STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math), Service Learning & Health curriculum. FITS launches its first Facebook, Twitter & Blog pages in order to improve communications.

 

Learn about our History of Partners and our History of Sites.