Featured Image: 2022 summer staff on the first day of training
Prepped and Ready to Grow!

June was an exciting month at CAN as we welcomed 18 full-time Summer Program Facilitators to operate our 6-week educational summer camp. We spent 2 weeks getting to know each other, training, prepping our centers, and learning about our 2022-2023 curriculum, Our Friend, Earth! Check out what some of our sites did to prepare for the campers' arrival!
Arrowwood staff made this awesome reading chart to encourage campers and track their reading throughout the summer!
VISTA Jamie prepping our summer camp bags which will be filled with sun screen, bandages, snacks, water, and more when campers go on
field trips!
Hikone staff put together a cozy reading corner complete with reclining chairs! How cool are those books organized in rainbow order?!
Our Friend, Earth is in full swing!

We are one week in to our 2022 summer camp and having a blast! Students learned about our planet's amazing biodiversity through hands-on art and design projects. Campers created portraits of themselves and the earth, played plant and animal charades, watched episodes of Planet Earth, created bird feeders, and built their own terrarium gardens.

Left: Jaxon showing off the bird feeder he made! Right: Charlie displaying her terrarium!
We're looking forward to engaging in many more projects as the summer continues! Here's a sneak peak...

In the weeks to come, campers will participate in a climate change science fair, learn about solar power through DIY s'mores ovens, create gardens with recycled materials, model in a fashion thrift show, and so much more! Stay tuned!
What Is Happening at CAN?
CAN's New Nutrition Curriculum
We are excited to announce our new Nutrition Curriculum that will be facilitated each day at camp this summer!

Our Nutrition Curriculum development team spent 6 months researching ways to discuss food in a healthy way, creating impactful activities, and piloting the lessons. So far, the campers are loving them and so are we!

Throughout the summer, campers will learn how to follow a recipe, how food grows and how it fuels our bodies, how to eat mindfully, and so much more!
Check out a couple of the lessons our Creekside Court campers enjoyed in week 1 of summer camp!

On the right, Tristan is making his own sauce as part of the Combining Flavors lesson!
On the left, Synai is participating in the Ingredients of Me lesson!

Campers built fruit salads with a variety of fruits to represent the variety of characteristics they have.

Synai is cool like a kiwi and sweet like a strawberry!
Celebrating Success of Supportive Services
The Ann Arbor Housing Commission (AAHC), CAN's partner in operating services at our Hikone, Green Baxter Court, and Creekside Court community centers, recently released an exciting study that evaluates the types of services used by residents at these three AAHC locations. The study analyzed 2-years worth of data and shows the success rate of those services in keeping tenants housed.

This is no small feat and we appreciate all of our partners who help us offer these services!
Looking for Ways to Get Involved?
Consider supporting CAN's
Back to School Drive!
Every year, our community centers host Back to School BBQs which serve as a fun opportunity for students, guardians, teachers, school faculty, and supportive community members to get together and get ready for the next school year. CAN students receive a backpack filled with the supplies they need to start the semester off right!

Contact Colette DeRaud at cderaud@canwashtenaw.org or
(734) 994-2985 ext. 124 for more information!
CAN is looking for backpacks filled with the following:
Kindergarten-5th Grade:
  • Backpack
  • #2 pencils and pens
  • Pencil sharpener and eraser
  • Colored pencils and crayons
  • Markers and highlighters
  • Pencil box or pouch
  • 12-inch ruler
  • 5-inch blunt tip scissors
  • Glue sticks
  • Composition notebook
  • Wide-rules loose leaf paper
  • Folder
6th-12th Grade:
$75 Amazon Gift Card OR
  • Backpack
  • #2 pencils and pens
  • Pencil sharpener and eraser
  • Pencil box or pouch
  • Highlighters
  • 4 Wide-rules notebooks
  • Wide-ruled loose leaf paper
  • 4 folders
  • 2 3-ring binders
  • 1 pack of binder dividers
  • Planner and a USB drive
Donate to Support the
CAN Art & Design program
(creator of CAN's Environmental Sustainability thematic curriculum)
CAN's thematic curricula utilize sensory learning and tactile materials to assist students with problem-solving through designing prototypes and creating real projects. Every donation will assist with ensuring our students have access to the materials they need to become world-changers!
Find Other "Ways to Give"
Check out our Support page to see what items and in what other ways
Community Action Network
PO Box 130076, Ann Arbor, MI 48113
Community Action Network partners with children, youth, and families from under-resourced Washtenaw County neighborhoods to create better futures for themselves and improve the communities in which they live.
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