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Since 2005 the City of Miami’s Summer Recreation Program (MSRP) has been allowing children to spend their summer socializing while learning new games. Children in the program get the chance to get out of their house and stay out of trouble. They are also fed two free meals a day through Northeastern Oklahoma A&M college (NEO) Sodexo’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) program. “We teach kids to utilize any and everything recreational in the boundaries of Miami,” said Jeanie Siegrist, MSRP camp director. “I would love more youth in the Miami area to be involved in the program.”
The MSRP is available to children aged 7-14 from Miami and the surrounding areas. The children are put into four different age groups, each group distinguished by a different color. The children then get to interact with other children within a year of their age. Each group learns games tailored to their age group. The MSRP uses the resources around the Miami area to teach new games that are cheap or free.
Attendees visit NEO, the Riverview Park disc golf courses, and the Northeastern Technical Center (NETC) in Afton. At NEO, the children eat their two meals and the counselors use the open space to teach games they could play at home. The MSRP provides the children with fishing poles and bait and takes them to the Afton NETC to fish.
The Sodexo SFSP is a nationwide program to make sure children get free healthy meals and snacks. Nationally, the SFSP has served more than 150,000,000 meals. At NEO, the SFSP provides breakfast and lunch to participants in the MSRP. “We are providing up to 1,000 meals a day or more and we do that seven days a week,” said Cathy Cunningham, general manager of Sodexo at NEO. “We deal with the quality of life and try to make everybody’s day a better day by giving them a home away from home and the best quality food we can.”
The MSRP will continue to operate through the month of June. For more information about the MSRP, visit facebook.com/miamisummerrecreationprogram. Or call at 918-257-1111. (Top Photo: Jeanie Siegrist plays a game with attendees of the MSRP. Bottom Photo: Cathy Cunningham, general manager of Sodexo at NEO)
