Foundation sponsors pair for summer camp

Alyssa Deonarine, 10, left, was excited as her mother, Suraya, and Yva Jourdan Foundation President Marsha Guerrier, right, signed her up for summer camp at Village Hall on June 6.

Andrew Hackmack/Herald

Two Valley Stream children will be spending the next six weeks at summer camp thanks to a donation from a local organization.

The Yva Jourdan Foundation, founded by North Valley Stream resident Marsha Guerrier, is paying for the pair to attend the village’s summer camp at Barrett Park. This is third year in a row that the foundation is sponsoring a child for the camp, and the first year it is sending two children.

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Guerrier said. “They get to enrich their social lives. It helps them become more well-rounded people. Hopefully, the experience will lead them to do better in school.”

Alyssa Deonarine, 10, and Michael Hansraj, 7, are the two children chosen to attend camp, which runs on weekday mornings from July 27 through Aug. 10. Alyssa was chosen through an online raffle hosted by ValleyStreamMom.com, and Michael was recommended by the Peninsula Counseling Center.

Suraya Deonarine, Alyssa’s mother, said she is grateful for the opportunity. She said finances are tight and wasn’t sure the family would be able to afford camp this year. This will be Alyssa’s first time attending, but her older brothers have been through the program. “They loved it,” Suraya Deonarine said. “They looked forward to going every day.”

Alyssa will be in fifth-grade next year at St. Raymond’s School in East Rockaway and has previously attended Clear Stream Avenue School. She said she is looking forward to meeting other children and making new friends at camp.

Her mother hopes for the same. “She’s so shy,” Suraya Deonarine said, “so I’m hoping she’ll be more outgoing when she comes out of it.”

Michael, a second-grader at Shaw Avenue School, went to a full-day summer camp last year. His mother, Venika Laurent, said it wasn’t the easiest time for him and he would probably do better in a half-day camp program like at Barrett Park.

“He is excited,” Laurent said. “I’m hoping that he’ll be able to gain some socialization skills and make some friends.”

The Yva Jourdan Foundation picked up the $200 registration fee for each child plus one field trip. Combined, sponsorship of the two kids is costing less than $500. “This is such an affordable program that it is manageable for our organization,” Guerrier said.

Alyssa chose the July 25 New York Mets game as her field trip, while Michael picked the trip to the aquarium.

The Yva Jourdan Foundation is close to earning tax-exempt status, Guerrier said, which means she soon will be able to apply for grants. She explained that she wants to be able to send even more children to the camp in future years.

The foundation also made a donation to Dance Xpressions so a young girl from Haiti, who is living with family in Valley Stream, can attend a summer dance program.

Guerrier said she plans to visit the two children at summer camp this year. She has not been to Barrett Park and wants to see the program in action.

More than anything, she hopes that Alyssa and Michael have a good time. “I’ve never been to summer camp,” Guerrier said. “I always thought it was something that I missed in my childhood.”