FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 7, 2004

Contact: Rhonda Carpenter
Corporate Communications Specialist
rhondac@eckerd.org
727-461-2990

Camp E-Ku-Sumee Reaccredited With National Standards

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Eckerd Youth Alternatives’ (EYA) Camp E-Ku-Sumee recently received re-accreditation by the Council on Accreditation (COA), an international accrediting body of social and behavioral healthcare services.

Camp E-Ku-Sumee, in Candor, N.C., was established in 1978 and is one of 18 outdoor therapeutic education programs that EYA operates for troubled youth. All 18 Eckerd Youth Alternatives’ outdoor camps are endorsed by COA, undergoing reassessment every four years for accreditation.

COA accreditation attests that the program meets the highest quality national standards and is delivering the best distinctive services to the community it serves. Its backing process involves an in-depth examination of the program to promote best-practice values, champion quality services for children, youth and families, and endorse the value of accreditation.

“Eckerd Youth programs provide a safe, nurturing, therapeutic setting in which every child has an opportunity to succeed,” said President and CEO Karen V. Waddell. “We hold ourselves to the highest standards because these youth deserve no less. COA accreditation is a great affirmation of those standards.”

The Eckerd camp serves 10- to 17-year-old boys and girls who benefit from hands-on, experiential education combined with therapeutic behavioral treatment in a rural, outdoor residential setting. Staff members help the campers build effective relationships, take responsibility for their choices and understand the consequences of their behavior. The goal is to help youth succeed, both academically and in life.

About Camp E-Ku-Sumee
Founded in 1978 in the Uwharrie Forest of Montgomery County on approximately 650 acres, Camp E-Ku-Sumee serves 10- to 17-year-old boys and girls. The program is a comprehensive residential program that integrates group and individual therapy, wilderness adventure programs, communication-building skills, and a fully accredited educational component. The program is one of seven programs in North Carolina operated by Eckerd Youth Alternatives, Inc. E-Ku-Sumee means “Their Ambition” in the Muskokee Indian language.

About Eckerd Youth Alternatives
Eckerd Youth Alternatives is a private non-profit organization that serves more than 9,500 at-risk and troubled youth each year. Since 1968, more than 60,000 young people have been helped through a range of 41 residential and community-based Eckerd youth programs: outdoor therapeutic treatment programs, juvenile justice programs, follow-up ReEntry programs and Hi-Five early intervention and prevention services. Headquartered in Clearwater, Fla., Eckerd Youth Alternatives provides youth programs in eight states: Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Vermont, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. For more information, call 727-461-2990 or visit our Web site at www.eckerd.org.