RPK Neighborhoods
Strong neighborhoods create strong futures
Being an RPK Neighborhood is not a one-and-done activity. It is a tradition dedicated to inspiring young minds through engaging activities, fostering friendships, and building community spirit. Our unique model combines hands-on experiments with social growth, creating an environment where kids learn, explore, and grow together.
Founded in 2025, RPK Neighborhoods aims to provide a model for affordable, community-driven summer camps for neighborhoods across the country. RPK Neighborhoods’ camp model provides what parents and communities are seeking: a neighborhood tradition that offers affordable childcare and fosters deeper community connections.
Help with the Impact!
Investing in RPK Neighborhoods means investing in the future of our communities. Our pilot program, launching in the summer of 2026, will test the RPK Camp model in various communities. We plan to use this pilot program to make modifications before we expand and open to the public in 2027. Your support can help us bring this vision to life and create lasting positive impacts on families nationwide.
Your contribution can help get this off the ground and bring the impact of RPK Neighborhood Camps to communities all over. We need you to help us spread the benefits of this camp model to more places.
We are seeking visionary investors to help bring RPK Neighborhood Camps to communities across the country.
Together, we can help neighborhoods:
- Build lasting traditions that unite neighbors.
- Foster inter-age friendships and mentorship among children.
- Strengthen community support networks.
- Provide walkable, affordable childcare when parents need it most!
Now, we’re ready to scale, and we need partners who share our belief that strong neighborhoods create strong futures.
Read our Donor Info Sheet for more information about how your contribution helps!
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RPK Neighborhoods is a Massachusetts limited-liability company operating as RPK Neighborhoods, a project of Players Philanthropy Fund, Inc., a Texas nonprofit corporation recognized by IRS as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal Tax ID: 27-6601178, ppf.org/pp). Contributions to RPK Neighborhoods qualify as tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
Your contribution is appreciated.
What sets us apart?
We believe in the power of community. Our neighborhood camp model is designed to bring parents together, strengthen community bonds, and provide a fun, enriching environment for children. We aim to make this model adaptable to any neighborhood, ensuring that families across the country can benefit by becoming an RPK Neighborhood that aligns with their focus.
The impact of RPK Neighborhoods on a community:
Why are we needed?
As parents and educators, we have grown increasingly worried about the screen-based, overly-scheduled and structured ways in which many children (including our own!) are growing up. Books like The Anxious Generation remind us that our own children aren’t growing up knocking on each other’s doors to play, or exploring their neighborhoods in the same ways we did. It is all too common nowadays for children in a neighborhood to not know one another, despite living on the same block or even in the same building.
As more schools begin to ban cell phones, and as more research shows the negative impact of screens and social media on children’s development, we were inspired to create RPK Neighborhoods as an antidote to the isolation and anxiety that many children feel, even in their own communities.
Based on a successful, homegrown, hyperlocal week-long summer camp that emerged organically ten years ago in the Boston suburbs, we began dreaming about how to bring the same magic to communities everywhere. We want to help families everywhere Raise Playful / Positive / Proud / Purposeful Kids (RPK!)—and it all starts with a simple one-week summer camp model.
We asked ourselves: How might a homegrown parent- and teen-led, one-week summer camp help neighborhoods across the U.S. and beyond provide children with opportunities to:
- learn how to play with each other outside of structured, school-like environments;
- engage in playful, imaginative, experiential learning opportunities;
- sing, paint, dance, create, and find new talents;
- explore their independence in a supportive, safe neighborhood;
- forge lasting friendships with other children who live nearby (but who, without prompting, may never have connected)?
With decades of experience building and running youth summer programming (including for our own kiddos), we created RPK Neighborhoods to help families like yours build meaningful summer experiences for your children and community.
Launching a hyperlocal, neighborhood summer camp doesn’t need to be daunting! Our easy-to-follow camp schedule templates, suggested activities, and clear steps for organizing and managing all logistics will help you launch and sustain a rewarding summer experience that will bring children and families together year after year.
If you are ready to forge a lasting “camp family” in your neighborhood, don’t delay. Reach out to us at RPK Neighborhoods to find out more about how you can ensure that your children aren’t missing out on the best parts of childhood.
Community Impact
By bringing together kids, teens, and community members, RPK Neighborhoods fosters a vibrant environment where intergenerational friendships and fun strengthen community bonds.
Unique Approach
Our camp’s model integrates middle school counselors with younger participants, providing mentorship while fostering leadership and mutual respect through hands-on experiments and growth-focused activities.
Community Tools
We offer resources like guides, subscription plans, and chat features to empower community organizers, making learning accessible and engaging for all children and families.
Our Vision
RPK Neighborhoods believes that strong neighborhoods create strong futures. By providing a platform for neighborhood-building traditions, we will be a leader in community-centered engagement, strengthening community bonds and fostering lifelong connections.
Looking to bring an RPK Neighborhoods Camp to your neighborhood? Let’s chat about how to create your own summer tradition!
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