Be the first to register for Summer 2025!

Summer Camp with TomTod Ideas

Since 2012, TomTod Ideas has provided excellent summer programming for our community’s middle schoolers. With two-week day camps and partial-day mini camps, there are options for everyone.

With over six decades of combined experience in facilitating summer camps for youth, our highly trained leadership team brings community exploration, Liberatory Design Thinking, and a whole lot of fun to Stark and Summit County middle schoolers every summer.

Be the first to know when Summer 2025 registration opens!

Expression of Interest Form

FREE for middle schoolers and their families!

Go ahead and do a happy dance!

Thanks to our community partners, including cities and school districts, sponsors, and individual donors who believe middle schoolers matter, all summer programming is free to middle schoolers and their families.

Curious how a free summer program can impact you and your child?

Read about Andrew and Lisa’s CAMP WHAT IF experience

Camp What If

All day summer camps for middle schoolers in 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade this Spring. Two-week sessions in Canton, North Canton, and Akron.

Camp Explore

Partial day summer camps for middle schoolers in 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade this Spring. Explore themes like Manufacturing, Art, or Community Health.

I will honestly say that my daughter had a bit of a spark after our first week with TomTod.

Quick “yes” or “no” answers turned into long narratives that filled our entire ride home each day.

FAITH B – PARENT

My son taught me things I didn’t know – I could feel the community coming into our home.

He’d come back each day eager to share stories about the places he visited and the people he met.

LISA T – PARENT

After Camp What If, here’s what campers can do…

90%

confidently collaborate with adults and other campers

86%

learn to research real problems in the real world

94%

use their creativity and critical thinking to solve problems

85%

confidently present their ideas to adults and community members

*based on self-reported data from 2024 campers

OUR STRATEGY

Middle schoolers first. We know middle schoolers are exploring their place in the world. We know the world tends to tell them to wait until they’re older. Not us. From the activities to our staff to the space we’re in, we create experiences for middle schoolers to see themselves as community leaders.

Highly Experienced Staff

TomTod’s camp staff is a diverse mix of professionals dedicated to serving middle schoolers. Each of our summer staff members go through a competitive application and review process that includes a background check before being hired. With over six decades of experience in facilitating summer camps for youth, our leadership team is ready to create the best camp experience for your middle schooler.

Community-Based Programming

Like all TomTod programming, summer camps are community based. Whether we focus on manufacturing within Stark County, a neighborhood in southeast Canton, or a local business in Akron, campers will spend their week visiting organizations, talking with community leaders, and seeing themselves as experts of their own community.

Middle Schoolers Only

We truly see middle schoolers as important members of our community. We value their perspective and believe they matter. Middle schoolers are in an important developmental stage that we’ve devoted our lives to becoming experts in. We love hanging out with middle schoolers, listening to their dreams, and advocating for their place at the table.

Zero Boring Zone

At TomTod, we believe everything should be “20% more fun.” Campers will explore local businesses and reflect on their discoveries while in our camp ball pit. They’ll talk to community leaders like the mayor and come back to ideate in a blanket fort. Campers will learn Design Thinking skills while sharing insights over popsicles in the sun.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is TomTod Ideas?

TomTod is a youth development nonprofit based in Canton, Ohio that listens to, honors, and advocates for middle schoolers.
Yep. You read that right. Middle schoolers, and only middle schoolers. We create programming specifically for 10-14 year olds because we think their perspective is valuable and necessary for the community.

Since 2012, we’ve helped middle schoolers discover and love their community while finding ways to help it thrive. Using the latest research about early adolescent development, our programming allows students to explore idea creation through a community-focused, developmentally appropriate lens.

We are ball pit engineers, blanket fort architects, dance party organizers, and idea connoisseurs.

Who are the camp counselors?

TomTod’s camp staff is a diverse mix of professionals dedicated to serving middle school students. Each of our summer staff members go through a competitive application and review process that includes a background check before being hired. With over six decades of experience in facilitating summer camps for youth, our leadership team is ready to create the best camp experience for your middle schooler.

How much is camp?

We are dedicated to providing all our programming for free for our middle schoolers and their families. That being said, we are proud to offer the highest quality experience possible. If you find value in providing high quality programming for students, consider making a donation. Thank you!

Who is eligible to attend camp?

TomTod Summer Camps are open to middle schoolers leaving 5th through 8th grade. Each camp does have certain eligibility requirements, so be sure to check each camp’s description.

TomTod Summer Camps are educational but not school! All middle schoolers will be challenged and encouraged to make discoveries, ask questions, and learn something new about their community. Camp What If and Camp Explore, like all TomTod programming, is for middle schoolers of all learning styles.

What will my child do at camp?

We know middle schoolers are in a unique developmental stage where their imagination and creativity are firing on all cylinders, and the desire to discover who they are and where they belong echoes from within. Camp What If is perfectly designed for children in this stage of life!

Campers will explore the community by going on Field Discovery Labs to area organizations and businesses. They’ll have lunch from local restaurants, play games and make friends, and spend time learning how to create ideas for the community.

Campers will explore local businesses and reflect on their discoveries while in our camp ball pit. They’ll talk to community leaders like the mayor and come back to ideate in a blanket fort. Campers will learn Design Thinking skills while sharing insights over popsicles in the sun.