SJ Orgs: STARR

The Rutgers-Camden STARR Program (Sports Teaching Adolescents Responsibility and Resiliency) works with 80 to 100 African American, Latino, and Southeastern Asian adolescents, most of whom live in East Camden, to develop responsibility and resiliency through sports, community service, fundraising activities, education, and computer training.

Children growing up in the Camden Community generally don’t have the opportunity to participate in outdoor activities such as canoe trips and mountain hikes. This summer, the STARR program will make these activities possible.

The program was founded in 1996 by Rutgers professor of psychology Daniel Hart. With a generous donation from the Campbell’s Soup Foundation for this year’s summer program, the children will travel to Pinelands in June for canoeing, in July for hiking in the White Mountains, and in August will travel to Vermont for a full week of activities including hiking, swimming, reading and soccer.

Each week throughout the year, the STARR program meets at 9am on Saturdays at the Dudley Grange Park in Camden to help team-building skills through soccer games. Teams can win only when every player has had the chance to score a goal.

The STARR group continuously needs the help of adult volunteers and monetary donations to keep the program running. Because the poverty rate in Camden is the second highest in the country, the STARR group does not charge registration fees. As a result, the program must run on a very low budget. The entire staff is made up of volunteers and the program relies on donations of equipment from nearby towns. Currently, the Council Rock Soccer Club donates equipment, Moorestown Friends High School donates soccer shoes and Washington Township donates uniforms.

The program is still in need of funds to pay for transportation of the soccer team and also to fund the weekly trip to New England, which costs $300 per participant to cover room and board, transportation and activity fees.

Adult Volunteers are also needed to act as big brothers and big sisters to the children. Adults can be extremely effective in promoting healthy lives of these children and can serve as positive role models. Parents, high school and college students and working professionals are all current STARR volunteers. More volunteers are needed to help with weekend soccer, homework, community service projects, field trips and the summer Vermont trip.

For more information on the STARR program, or if you’re interested in volunteering, please contact President Robert Atkins at (856) 857-1291 or ratkins@clam.rutgers.edu or contact Vice President Daniel Hart at (856) 225-6515 or hart@camden.rutgers.edu You can also visit the STARR website at hart.camden.rutgers.edu/STARR.

For more on local Organizations, visit our South Jersey Organizations page.

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Author: Melissa Samuelson