By James Windell
The Elkenburg Park Summer Recreation Program, which has provided a summer enrichment experience for the past 20 years, seemed doomed recently when expected funding disappeared.
But thanks to the generosity of the Carol and Don Hodgman Fund, the summer program will be back this summer.
“When we lost funding for the Elkenburg Park Summer Recreation Program, we faced losing vital resources for children and families,” noted Bishop Joe Wilkins. “It jeopardized our summer activities, and the positive things children learn outside of the school setting.”
The Elkenburg Park Summer Recreation Program has been a supervised summer day program for kids run by the City of South Haven’s Parks & Recreation Department for two decades. However, this year Wilkins, who oversees the summer program, looked elsewhere for funding when the city put its resources elsewhere.
“Don Hodgman loves this community and his wife, Carol, definitely believed in supporting nonprofit organizations,”
Wilkins said in an interview after announcing at the South Haven City Council meeting on June 1, 2026, that the summer program would continue, “so, in loving memory of his wife and his love of family and community, Don invested in this year’s program. I just think that speaks volumes of the kind of people Carol and Don have been.
”Wilkins, pastor of Resurrection Life Ministries, said that many kids fall through the cracks, especially if they’re not involved in the school program. “This summer recreation program allows us an opportunity to reach those kids who are not involved in the school system,” he said.
Andrea Goodwin, who is director of the summer program, says that children from about ages 6 to 13 can participate in the free program that begins on July 6 and runs daily from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm through August 21. “Every area child is welcome to come to participate in the activities,” she said.
Some of the activities planned for this summer, according to Goodwin, include rock painting, T-shirt designing, nature walks, and activities involving the South Havem Center for the Arts and the Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum.
For more information about the Elkenburg Park Summer Recreation Program, visit their Facebook page or contact Goodwin at prettyteens.2022@gmail.com or call 269-352-2603.
