By LAUREN COMSTOC
Only three youth programs sponsored by the Church Educational System will be offered this summer for boys and girls. To create more space for the thousands of youth who want to attend, several summer programs will no longer be offered.
“In the past there were a lot of different programs,” said Susan Overstreet, director of CES Youth and Family Programs. The summer youth programs were spread thin, she said. Now, in an effort to consolidate and strengthen programs, boys and girls can go to two different summer programs.
This year Boys World of Adventure will be offered for boys ages 12-14 and Academy for Girls will be offered for girls of the same age.
EFY is the only program for both boys and girls ages 15-18 that will be offered this summer. There is a 31,000 maximum enrollment for all three programs, Overstreet said. There are 24,000 enrolled already.
In the past, programs such as Be the Best You, Look at You and Academy for Girls accommodated girls from ages 12-18. There were separate offices for each program as well as different policies, deadlines and prices. The programs have been combined into EFY, Boys World of Adventure and Academy for Girls.
“Now we are really a department,” Overstreet said.
Last year 5,000 youth did not get into their original program choice, Overstreet said. However, they had several different choices on the applications, she said.
“EFY fills a need among the youth,” said Duane Hiatt, director of Editorial and Media Production for Continuing Education at BYU. The summer programs teach the gospel to a wide number of youth, Hiatt said.
EFY was almost cancelled after its first year in 1976. Approximately 200 participants attended, said Todd Willey, assistant program administrator for CES Youth and Family Programs. There was not enough interest in the program, Hiatt said. A few stakes decided to participate the second year which kept the program going.
In 1996 the number of participants is expected to be close to 29,000.
