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We’ve all heard the saying, “Flex Your POWER!” It’s the ol’ PG&E slogan for turning lights off. When it comes to After School Programs, we’re flexing our power to keep the lights on. Our kids need a fun, safe and enriching place to go after school.

We make many decision for our children. What foods should they eat (or not be eating), how much sleep do they need, should they be involved in sports or music? What about after school care? If you are a working parent, this is a very important question. You may even worry about this decision. But, wait! They are having FUN! They’re happy. They’re even appreciative of the hard work that we do every day. That’s what we learned from some of our wonderful “Kids on Campus” families at last week’s National Light on After School event. Each of our twelve school’s participated, inviting parents to join in the celebration. They spent a few hours PLAYing together, sharing activities and telling stories.

One of the highlights of the day was watching a parents vs. kids dodge ball game. The smiles, priceless!

Lights on Afterschool is a nationwide event held each October to celebrate the importance of afterschool programs.

Did you know…

• 1 in 4 children are alone and unsupervised after school
• The hours between 3-6:00 pm are the peak hours for juvenile crime and experimentation.

After School programs keep kids SAFE, inspire them to learn and help working families.

For more information about CARD’s Kids on Campus program, cick here.

Keeping the lights on.

Playing games is not just for kids! CARD has a lot of big kids on the field too. Check out one of our “Over 40″ soccer teams, Cerveza United F.C. (Futbol Club). This is a proud bunch of guys who definitely have a “love for the game.”

Don’t be fooled, this over 40 team is ruthless. These guys are flying through the air, sliding into the goal box, and dare I say, tackling each other. I watch with my eyes partially covered. The truth is my husband is out there. When I’m not spectating, as soon as he walks through the door, my line of questions go in this order: “Did you get hurt???” (this question is not always answered honestly)…”Did you score?”….”Did you win?”

They did score last night, but not enough to win. The game was 7-5, going to the Chico United F.C. I should mention that last night was also the championship game between The Challengers vs. The Natural Lights. The game started too late for the CARD paparazzi. The big win going to The Challengers. Congratulations guys!!!

It’s the first week of Summer Camp…but where is Summer? Rest assured, our amazing camp counselors our sure to bring a bit of sunshine into your child’s life, rain or shine!

This was my youngest daughter’s first camp experience. She, the family extrovert, likes to pretend to be shy (insert me rolling my eyes). I know her far too well to start coddling and convincing her how much fun she’s going to have. This is a well rehearsed skit. Plus, I know how excited she is because she woke up at 6:15 AM, dressed for camp! It didn’t take long for the amazing counselor’s to rope her in with fun activities.

Welcome to camp (extrovert daughter not shown here)…

This past Memorial weekend our Summer camp counselors and aquatics staff were taken on a “Survivor” themed summer training camping trip. Oh yeah, we put ‘em to the test before we let your kids work their magic! If they can survive us, they will survive them too! They were divided into “tribes” as they completed challenges, team building activities, games and skits. It was a nice reminder that we are one BIG CARD family…here to PLAY! High five! 

P.S.  There are still plenty of camps open. Just click here to register.

What would Summer be without camp?

photo © 2007 Michael Oh | more info (via: Wylio)
Ever want to see yourself swinging a bat or scoring the winning goal? How about your friend’s amazing catch?

You might get that chance now because today the Chico Area Parks and Recreation District launched its new blog. It’ll be chalk full of activities, pictures and video of sports teams from around the area.

What’s more, you’ll be able to see whether or not your game has been postponed due to rain or if league registration dates have changed. And you can see and interact with the people behind the scenes – Chico Rec staff.

So bookmark this page, sign up for the RSS feed and/or the email updates and we’ll look forward to bringing you all the latest news affecting your sports life in Chico.