EAST AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — The summer season is almost here but parents around Western New York are feeling frustrated as summer camp availability is limited. On a Facebook post to one local group, parents shared their concerns with 7 News Reporter Adam Campos.
This! Very important! The need is so bad!
Availability and pricing are insane.
East Amherst resident Mandie Cerifko sent a direct message and said "It's incredibly frustrating and now I have to piecemeal childcare together for the summer".
7 News caught up with Mandie to talk more about those frustrations she's had during the process. She is looking for a summer camp for her eight-year-old daughter. The biggest issue she has faced is availability.
"I have July covered. I still don't have August. So it's tough, I don't know what to do for August," Cerifko said. "In the past we've used Just For Kids [Williamsville]. They opened sign ups I want to say 9AM one day like Mid March. I logged into that website at 1 o' clock to register and it was already full".
Cerifko has turned to Facebook as well to ask for suggestions of where to take her daughter. Many of the recommendations she received however were 20+ minute drives.
"You get people that say "well the science museum does one or this place does one or this place does one. Well the point of having her in camp is that at work I can’t drive down from East Amherst to the City of Buffalo and back everyday," Cerifko said. "That’s not conducive to the schedule."
One summer camp that still has open spots available is Stutelage Innovations in East Amherst and their locations throughout Western New York. The summer camp program recently expanded because of the high demand they were facing.
"Really, we just don't have enough summer camps in the Buffalo area. That's not to say we don't have so many amazing ones, but if you really look at how many children there are and especially how many working parents there are, parents need a place to send their children," Stutelage President and CEO Colleen McNamara said. "One thing that we really noticed is that our southtowns are lacking summer camp options. It's something that we've gotten phone calls about."
For Stutelage, despite there still being availability within their camps, McNamara said the camp has already surpassed over 8,000 slots taken of their 12,000 slots available or the summer.
During their expansion to more locations, Stutelage has been able to maintain consistent prices with only one price raise of $2 in the last eight years. The biggest cost for her at Stutelage right now is labor.
"Our number 1 cost is our labor, and we really want to make sure we’re getting the best of the best teachers and so we want to compensate them appropriately," McNamara said. "In addition to that our rent goes up, supplies go up, utilities, and while we hate to do it, we raise our prices just a small amount each year. Everyone kind of has to because things are crazy right now".
One tip that McNamara gave is for parents to continue to look for early bird specials. Stutelage is currently still offering some of their own. Another way that you can save money if you are able to find a summer camp for your child is by claiming tax credits through the child and dependent care credit. You will need to ask for the camp/organizations Tax ID in order to submit it with your taxes.
7 News has also compiled a list of summer camps that still has availability for this summer. The list will be published soon. If you know of any summer camps with availability, you can reach the newsroom with suggestions at news@wkbw.com.
