Young people employed through the Summer Work Experience Program (SWEP) gain valuable job skills they can use for future employment working as Recreation Coordinators with the Mobile Activities Recreation Services (MARS) Summer Camp.

From a mobile recreation program to movies in the park to job training and work experience for youth, Riverside County is offering residents numerous opportunities to stay engaged and entertained this summer.

Parents who are looking for something for their children to do appreciate the services of the M.A.R.S. Summer Explorer Program, which uses recreation vans filled with games, sports equipment, arts and crafts and educational materials, to bring services to children ages six to 13. M.A.R.S. stands for Mobile Activities Recreation Services. The program is run June, July and August at numerous sites.

"We’re the gap filler for recreational programs for our school systems," said Chad Wilshire, Recreation Supervisor and Senior Development Specialist at the Riverside County Economic Development Agency (EDA), Community Services Division.

The program is funded by special assessments in County Service Areas (CSAs). CSAs are an alternative method of providing governmental services by the County within unincorporated areas.

The goal is to provide services for communities that want them.  EDA has not only developed recreation programs for the special assessment communities but has earned accolades for them; the M.A.R.S Summer Explorer program is a State of California award-winning program.

The program fills a void. The county has developed quickly but community centers and gyms haven’t been built up as rapidly.

Each Wednesday, children take field trips or participate in special events.  Trips include: Knott’s Berry Farm, the San Diego Zoo and the Temecula Children’s Museum.

Families will enjoy an evening of free entertainment under the stars with the movie in the park program. The movie screen is nearly as large as those found in theaters and families enjoy bringing picnics and making an evening out of it. 

“We really offer a lot. It’s about trying to get the most for our dollars right now,” Wilshire said. And to do that, the department sometimes uses innovative ways. A “Mommy and me” class, for example, is run by two moms. The county assists with the development of lesson plans, provides the space and otherwise assists, but it’s the mothers who run the program. They get paid from the fee which the mothers pay when they join the class. The arrangement is a win-win. “This person now has a job and a community gets a service out of it,” he said. “These programs have gotten to the point where there is a waiting list for them.”

The county has been successful in obtaining mini-grants to subsidize a lot of these programs, Wilshire said. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the county hires young people for summer work to help run the recreation programs. Children see the young adults more like older siblings who help them have fun. The young people who help organize the programs are good role models for the younger children.

Check in your district calendar section for the M.A.R.S. and the Movies in the Park schedules.