The Carbon and Schuylkill SHINE Afterschool Program kicked off a summer of fun and academic enrichment with two weeks of summer camp held at Carbon Career & Technical Institute in Jim Thorpe and Mahanoy Area High School.

Children in the program came from Penn Kidder, L.B. Morris, Shull-David, Mahanoy Area, Panther Valley and Shenandoah elementary schools.SHINE director Rachel Strucko and Lindsey Miller headed the program, along with help from teachers and interns from the area."SHINE summer camp gives the students the resources to use what they have learned all year long," Miller said of the program. "They are able to reinforce their skills in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) while making lifelong memories."Each day, students participated in four one-hour activities, some of which included molecular gastronomy, science and sports. Outside organizations that contributed to these activities include the Lehigh Valley Zoo, Mud & Maker, the Da Vinci Science Center, Clyde Peeling's Reptiland, and Poke-A-Nose Pottery.The goal of the camp was to help with the "summer learning loss," Strucko said, adding that by working on academic skills during the summer, SHINE helps fill the learning gap until the new school year.The teachers that work for the SHINE summer camp also do SHINE's after-school program, which runs during the school year, in conjunction with home visits.The program, which operates through Lehigh Carbon Community College, has eight elementary centers, serving children in the Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Panther Valley, Shenandoah and Mahanoy school districts, and a middle school CCTI career academy that serves students from the five Carbon County school districts.SHINE is state-funded during the summer. Its programs during the year are funded bya grant from the U.S. Department of Education and donations from local businesses.SHINE has also been working on a community service program in Jim Thorpe. They are building various items to donate back to the town, including a shed for the Sam Miller Field. In the fall, SHINE will expand into the Parkside Elementary School in Palmerton.