Long-running CWRU summer program introduces Cleveland youth to college

Editor’s note: Kevin Chill Heard served as an adjunct instructor for the NYSP program at CWRU in 2022 and 2023, teaching Hip-Hop History.

On the campus of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Dennis Harris, camp director of the school’s National Youth Sports Program, labors for an entire year to put together a five-week summer program aimed at giving kids a summer camp experience on a college campus. 

Many of Cleveland’s youth come from poor families and may not consider college an option. Many have never set foot on a college campus. NYSP exposes kids ages 8 to 16 to college and the potentially life-altering opportunities that await there. 

Harris says that he often tells the story of a little girl walking into the CWRU cafeteria for the first time and saying, “Wow, I can’t believe all this is for us.” 

That’s exactly the kind of impact he hopes to make with the 53-year-old program, which combines sports activities, educational enrichment, nutrition and health services and serves about 300 kids each summer. “Think about it,” Harris said. “We have one of the top academic universities in the country. They saw the vision that if you have a higher education, you have to start with lower education. You start them young and get them ready for college.”

Summers can be extremely difficult for parents without the economic means to send their kids to camp. Cleveland, with a 45% child poverty rate, and East Cleveland, with a 50% child poverty rate, are prime examples. The cost of NYSP is $85 for Cleveland residents and $175 for non-residents. Harris said his program provides an affordable option, especially for kids who live around University Circle but may have never set foot on CWRU’s campus. 

“These kids are sitting in lecture halls where future doctors, engineers, lawyers, accountants and business people sit,” Harris said. “If they can see it, they can be it. That makes me feel good.”

That’s why Harris spends much of the year promoting the program, going to churches, after-school sports programs, and other places to talk to young people and families and spread the word. “Those five weeks are transformative, not just for the kids, but the parents and the staff,” he said. “Everyone involved comes out of this experience a changed person.”

50+ years and still running

Harris has been working with the program since 1988 and took over leadership in 1996. He grew up in Cleveland’s Lee-Harvard neighborhood on the east side, where he attended John F. Kennedy High School. He was on the football team and ran track and field. After playing football for four years at The Ohio State University under renowned coach Woody Hayes, Harris graduated with a degree in history, an example of the kind of impact a college education can make. 

“I owe a lot to my parents,” Harris said. “My mom grew up in the segregated South and only had a fourth grade education when she came to Cleveland, but all five of her kids have college degrees. She pushed and preached education to us.” His dad fought in World War II and received three bronze stars. “He also pushed education. They instilled in me the need to continue in education and give back to the community, so I’m a product of my parents and I try to keep their vision alive.”

Between racing across campus to put out small fires (and sometimes large ones), his constant mentoring of staff and students, and the day-in day-out job of raising money, Harris’s job is a labor of love. He says he’s been keeping an eye out to find “the next Coach Harris,” but until that day comes, he continues to steer the ship.

NYSP began in the ’60s as a Civil Rights era program to help young people during a time of massive civil unrest and growing awareness of racial and economic disparity. In 1968, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services forged a partnership between the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Office of Community Services to create the NYSP following the massive urban riots across the country. 

Out of the 220 colleges and universities to have hosted NYSP programs across the country, however, CWRU’s summer program is one of the few still standing after Congress cut funding in 2005. (Here is a history of NYSP and federal funding.) For its survival, Harris credits the university. He said many other colleges and universities discontinued their programs after money ran out from the federal government. The Cleveland program still exists because CWRU and the city of Cleveland have continued to back the original vision all these decades later. 

The program is funded by CWRU and the city of Cleveland, which allocates funding through its division of parks and recreation, Harris said. Beyond that, it’s the dedicated staff and parents that make the program a success. “We have a staff that believes in the vision of finding a place for kids,” he said. “You also have to give the parents credit. Without parents and kids you have no program.”

Sam Gissentaner, Commissioner of Cleveland’s Division of Recreation, told The Land that the city has supported NYSP on a yearly basis. Gissentaner also said that the funding has varied from year-to-year. Kate Klonowski, CWRU’s director of local government and community relations, confirmed that for the 2023 program the Division of Recreation contributed $150,000. Harris said the total program budget is around $500,000, including funds from the city, foundation grants, and in-kind donations from CWRU. 

NYSP officials say they don’t know how many of the program’s graduates have gone on to college. Julian Rogers, CWRU’s assistant vice president for local government and community relations, said the university will evaluate the success of the program in the future. 

Generational impact

The impact NYSP makes on kids and families is undeniable when you hear the glowing stories about their summer experiences. But just why is the program so impactful? 

Sydney Gilmore, an 11th grader at Cleveland School of the Arts who attended NYSP in summer 2022, said of the program, “I met new friends, it kept me busy and kept me in shape.” With an interest in acting and singing, she said that her most memorable experience was participating in the end of summer talent show. “I would recommend this camp to everybody,” she said. “I made some friends for life.”

Monique Cooper Olowu, NYSP assistant director, said in addition to giving kids a positive outlet during the summer, there’s a strong alumni network. “These are people who have gone through the program and they come back and work for the program, and they volunteer for the program,” she said. “We in turn, support them in their business endeavors and through whatever it is that they’re doing in life.”

Olowu has experienced the joy of seeing her son, Adetayo “Ty” Olowu, transition from being a student/camper to being a coach/instructor for NYSP this past summer. “He started when he was in the fifth grade; he is now going into his second year of college,” she said. “He loved the camp. I remember him in the summers and he would wake me up and say ‘I have to be on time for camp, I don’t want to miss the swimming’ or ‘I don’t want to be late, I’m trying to make camper of the year,’ or ‘I gotta help Coach Harris, he told me to come early.’” 

In its 53 years, the NYSP has seen former campers send their kids or even their grandkids to the camp. The veteran NYSP staffers refer to it as going “full circle.”

Olowu feels that this connectivity is a testament to the program. “Anytime you have parents that were campers that are now sending their kids to camp, it speaks volumes about what we do,” she said. “It tells me that NYSP made a difference in their life.”

Many within the staff say that the generational journey tells you everything you need to know about how the community feels about the program.

The Grand Finale community picnic & talent show 

NYSP ends with a bang: Every year at the end of the summer, there’s a camp-wide talent show featuring campers and teachers. From the moment the camp starts, the kids are made aware of the talent show. Harris said it’s an opportunity to shine a spotlight on staff and students. Awards are given for “Camper of the Year” and “Staff of the Year,” and even some members of CWRU join in and participate in the talent show. The annual event is often the highlight of the camp experience.

Preceding the talent show is a picnic for the campers, parents, staff, administration, politicians and the community at large. This event serves as part of the final farewell until the following year. “We invite the community and we try to make it a summer event to be remembered,” said Harris. 

This past summer, Cleveland City Council members Kevin Bishop, Deborah Gray, and Blaine Griffin were in attendance. “We all come together to break bread and afterwards we have an intergenerational talent show featuring the campers and the camp counselors,” Harris said. “We also have the upper administration from the university attend. I don’t want them to seem like unknown and unreachable people in an ivory tower. We have everyone come together under one common tent.”

Ward 9 council member Kevin Conwell said he supports the NYSP program and sent his daughter there. “The outcome is noticeably measurable,” he said. “She graduated from Cleveland State University at the top of her class and she attributed a lot of that to being part of the program at Case Western Reserve University.”

Conwell stresses that the NYSP program teaches character and self discipline. The Ward 9 councilman has often been spotted walking the area of Case’s campus.

Harris said that he often reflects on his own experiences at college while directing NYSP. “When I look back to January of 1976 when my parents dropped me off at Ohio State University, I had only been on a college campus one other time,” he said. “These kids get a chance to come here year after year to a university campus, and not just any university, but one of the top academic universities in the country.”

The upcoming NYSP summer program is scheduled to run from June 10 through July 12, 2024. Registration will begin online January 1, 2024. The NYSP Website is https://case.edu/focus/programs/national-youth-sports-program. 

Camp participation is available on a first-come, first-served basis. In order to be eligible to participate, participants must be between the ages of 8-16 years old (participants who are 7 must turn 8 by Aug. 30, 2024).

For more information, contact Dennis Harris, NYSP Project Administrator at 216/368-4843 or e-mail nysp@case.edu.