- May 9, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
Justin Rovins' passion for radio began when he was a high school student, and for the last 18 years, he's been working to share that with students across the area. His new summer camp this year will be a continuation of that.
Rovins, who is an Ormond Beach resident, runs local non-profit "Exploration in Communications," which helps kids ages 8-18 get involved in many aspects of communication, such as journalism, radio, television and music. This summer, Rovins will be launching the first ever Creative Arts Summer Camp, a two-month weekday camp which will include a video project where the kids will create their own documentary to be shown at local movie theaters.
For him, it's a way to pass on his love of broadcasting and help kids stay out of trouble.
“Kids that are into it, it’s something that they can really enjoy, but even if they’re not into it, it’s something that keeps them busy," Rovins said.
However, one of the challenges of putting on such an extensive program is money.
Rovins' summer camp will be made up of almost daily field trips around Central Florida to help the kids better understand the communications field. He said some of these field trips, which oftentimes gives the kids a behind-the-scenes look, can cost up to $1,200 per student, though through donations and sponsorships, he's cut it down to $20 for the mini-workshops for his organization. Sometimes, even that's too much.
"A lot of kids can’t afford $20, and I noticed that," Rovins said. "It’s a really big issue around here. In this area, $20 is tough for some parents to come up with.”
The cost of his camp is $85 per week. The money will help "Explorations in Communication" run for the entire year. But first, they need to raise enough money for a bus to transport all the future campers to the field trip locations.
“Getting the bus can make it or break it, because we’ve always done these little mini-field trips where parents have chaperoned and everything, but I can’t rely on parents every single day for the whole summer to be there to chaperone,” Rovins said.
He's also working with local foster care agencies to get some of their children involved in the upcoming camp. As someone who is a foster parent and actually adopted his very first foster child, Shawn Ishmael, it is something that is important to him.
Rovins got involved with radio broadcasting after he got a summer internship at "Wild 95.5" in Palm Beach and later at 99.9 Kiss FM in Daytona Beach. He loved being at the station so much, he said he used to spend all of his time there, even when he wasn't working. In 1999, he began one of the first internet radio stations, "Real Muzic Radio," which is still operational today.
"The big goal is to just roll out this summer with a big boom," Rovins said.
