Children and adolescents in the STARR Program are provided with year-round opportunities to engage in recreational soccer, fun activities and trips out of the city. These activities provide youth in our program with constructive physical activity in a safe context which numerous studies have noted are particularly lacking in high-poverty urban communities.

Annual STARR trips include:

• Pine Barrens canoe trip every June
• Christmas eve ice skating trip at Penn’s Landing
• Hiking, backpacking and camping each summer
• An annual weeklong trip to Vermont for a summer camp experience.

A growing body of evidence suggests that youth develop civic identity through participation in community service projects. Youth in the STARR program have participated in a variety of community service projects such as trash clean ups at local schools and parks, tree plantings with the NJ Tree Foundation, delivering turkey baskets to needy families for Thanksgiving, walking to raise money for lupus research, and sorting food at the South Jersey Food Bank. Through these mandatory activities, adolescents learn that they can contribute effectively to the welfare of their community.

Over the years, STARR Program participants have also engaged in a variety of educational and cultural activities. For example, participants have visited colleges, museums, and national landmarks in New England, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

For more information about the STARR Program, to contribute, or to volunteer, please call me at 856-857-1291 or send me an email to robert.atkins@rutgers.edu

I look forward to hearing from you,

Best Regards,

Robert Atkins
President, STARR Program
Rutgers University-Camden
405-7 Cooper Street
Camden, NJ 08102