The Rochester Summer Parks Program is back again this summer.

The program is free this year, thanks to the Rochester Parks and Recreation Board. The program is open to Rochester residents only, and plans on serving around 100 kids between the ages of 6-12. 

A $5,000 grant was given to the program from the Northern Indiana Community Foundation for educational materials.

The program's theme this year is 'Community Explorers'.  It will run Monday through Friday from 7:45 a.m. -  noon, for three weeks, starting Monday, June 10. A community carnival will end the program on June 28, and will include a bouncy house, face painting, water balloon fights, and more.  

Program director Lindsay Barts says she had previously helped as a camp leader with the program while still in high school in the early 2000s. 

Barts says Abigail Cronan will serve as assistant director, and the duo are in search of around 18 Rochester Community High School students to help as camp leaders. A teacher recomendation is required to apply Camp leaders must be sophomores or older. 

The job pays minimum wage, with 75 hours guaranteed for the month. Barts says she plans to hold a call-out for camp leaders in the near future. High school students interested in the paid position should contact Brynn Wilson, an eighth grade Language Arts teacher at Rochester High School. 

Barts and Cronan plan to base some of this year's program activities off a free certification course the duo took through Yale University that focuses on gratitude, kindness and social connections. Barts said the programs have been scientifically proven to improve levels of happiness for those who participate in them, no matter the age.

Alongside the mindfulness activites the leaders hope to promote, there will also be traditional camp-type fun, playing at Manitou Park, and community outings to the bowling alley, city pool, library, and the Woodlawn Hospital’s StoryWalk. 

Children participating in the program will be dropped off each day at the city park. They can get a free breakfast and lunch thanks to the Rochester Community Schools’ free meal program. Barts said she is also working on getting donations for healthy snacks. 

Spots have filled up fast for kids wanting to participate in the program. Parents looking for more information about how to sign up their children can find information distributed at the Rochester Community Schools or at the Rochester branch of the Fulton County Public Library. 

Sign up deadline is at the end of April.