Backyard camp to deliver daily camp programming

‍TORONTO (May 14, 2020) – Parents and caregivers can reboot the summer camp experience at home with today’s launch of Backyard Camp – a new, free service delivering daily activities and customizable programs by email aimed at keeping kids active and engaged all summer long. Backyard Camp’s curated content is geared towards kids in preschool through to middle school and is available beginning today at BackyardCamp.ca.

How Backyard Camp works:

1. When parents and caregivers sign-up for the free service, they’re asked some simple questions that help Backyard Camp’s platform match their needs with a catalogue of programming.
2. Each weekend, parents and caregivers receive a materials and shopping list for their matched activities in the week ahead.
3. During the week (Monday to Friday), parents and caregivers receive a schedule for the day’s activities that is age-appropriate for their child and inspired by themes such as crafts, dance, sports and nature.

Backyard Camp was created by a group of Toronto-area parents who grew increasingly concerned that summer camp programs would be cancelled due to COVID-19, leaving them without a daily schedule of activities once the school year ended.

“Our house has settled into the homeschooling routine, and while it’s not ideal, at least I have the teachers helping me program my kids,” said Erin Elfassy, a founding parent of Backyard Camp. “We decided to start Backyard Camp’s daily email service to save parents time and give them options every day, without the need to browse multiple websites and discussion groups.”

Backyard Camp has also created a vibrant Facebook page, which is filled with programming ideas parents and caregivers can try with their kids today. Parents and caregivers are also encouraged to share their own activity suggestions with the Backyard Camp Parent Group to add to the catalogue. Other programming ideas will be provided by a range of contributors, from teachers to social workers to sports coaches.

In addition, Backyard Camp is looking to partner with existing private and city-run camps to have them share their expertise with the broader community and contribute to making the best of what is expected to be a stressful summer for many parents and caregivers. Backyard Camp is also open to partnering with socially responsible brands in unique ways.

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About Backyard Camp

Backyard Camp is a community not-for-profit initiative founded by parents Erin Elfassy, Mark Silver and Dayton Pereira. Its mission is to help all parents and caregivers with daily summer programming personalized for their children, whether they have a backyard or not.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Perry Schwartz
​perryschwartz@rogers.com​

416.738.8490