We believe middle schoolers matter.

Join us today in empowering middle schoolers and supporting the communities that surround them.

 

Summer Camp Adventures Just for Middle Schoolers.

All TomTod Summer Camps are FREE to families and run 4 days a week, typically Monday – Thursday from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. Each camp week is limited to 25 students. 

Click here to register!

FEATURED CAMP

CAMP WHAT IF!

The go-to free summer camp for middle schoolers leaving 5th-8th grade to explore their city, create and pitch ideas, and spark positive community change. They’ll visit a broad range of organizations, speak with community leaders, and explore what makes Canton tick!

What to expect :

During the first four days, we spend time getting to know each other, exploring the community, and talking to community leaders. Campers take all their learnings, dive into Design Thinking, and come up with ideas to help the community thrive. After the weekend, campers come back for three days and we switch to preparing our idea pitches and prototypes. The two-week camp concludes with a Community Ideation Celebration, where campers pitch their ideas to engaged community members and are given the opportunity to continue their idea launch in the real world.

Register now for free!

REGISTER NOW!

Empowering middle schoolers to explore and launch ideas that put empathy and imagination into action.

At TomTod, we think middle schoolers are pretty amazing. And not just because they exist in this awesome space where they still possess childlike imagination while discovering their place in the world.

We think middle schoolers are incredible humans because science says they are!

But most people don’t exactly feel fuzzy feelings when they think of middle school.

And because of that, middle schoolers are forgotten about—told they have the potential to do something “someday” instead of being valued for their perspective now.

So we decided to do something about that.

Explore How

WHAT WE OFFER

We are firm believers that students learn through doing.

We create curriculum and curate experiences that incorporate real community partners with real problems, giving students real goals to work toward.

We go beyond defining skills like project management, empathy, and responsibility. We create meaningful opportunities for students to practice them in real time.

CLASSES

Students use Liberatory Design Thinking to make real-world impact through experiential and problem-based learning. Aligning with Ohio Department of Education’s Social Emotional Learning, our classes can be incorporated one day a week in an existing classroom.

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CLUBS

We connect middle schoolers’ imaginations with real opportunities to contribute to local organizations during after-school or out-of-school time programs.

We also offer project-based mentoring to middle schoolers who have gone through our programs.

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CAMPS

With two-week day camps and partial-day mini camps, there are options for everyone. We bring community exploration, Liberatory Design Thinking, and a whole lot of fun to Stark and Summit County middle schoolers every summer.

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COLLABS

We facilitate inquiry-focused projects customized for your community and your middle school students.

Teachers receive training and ongoing support in implementing a fun, flexible, and fully designed curriculum.

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WHAT SETS US APART

MIDDLE SCHOOLERS MATTER

Middle schoolers don’t just listen—they have a voice. Using Design Thinking skills, they’ll research their community, brainstorm hundreds of ideas, develop one with a team, and present it to an audience of invested community members. They not only have a voice, but a real opportunity to put their ideas into action.

HIGH QUALITY PROGRAMMING and curriculum

Our programs are often compared to many community leadership programs offered to adults. Because we’re a direct service organization, we’re committed to building a team of early adolescent experts who develop and implement curriculum specifically for middle schoolers.

cOMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING

We think middle schoolers’ perspectives are important for our communities. Our programming allows students to not only explore different parts of their community, but also empowers them to see themselves as community leaders by engaging in community development. 

Who is doing this work?

Joel Daniel Harris

Founder, Executive Dreamer

Patrick Gerber

Team Guide, Lead Adventure Curator

Zane Sanders

Adventure Curator

Meet our entire team of experts

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