ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Albany city leaders have approved a $350,000 proposal to fill the gap for hundreds of Dougherty county children who previously attended a free summer sports program in town.

The City Commission voted to move forward with the Albany Summer Collective 2026, partnering with United Way of Southwest Georgia to expand enrollment at existing non-profit summer programs across the community.

The move comes after Albany State University announced it would cancel its National Youth Sports Program (NYSP), and instead offer a series of free summer camps throughout June for middle and high school students in science, technology and energy innovation.

>> READ MORE: Albany State announces free summer camps weeks after cutting youth sports program <<

Community advocates say the loss of the NYSP program could leave families scrambling for affordable childcare, increase the risk of summer learning loss for students, and mean children would not receive summer meals.

United Way of Southwest Georgia CEO Orson Burton Jr. said the Albany Summer Collective 2026 plan will help local nonprofits with existing summer programs increase enrollment and provide more resources to support children.

“We know that there are so many summer programs and people that are passionate that are already doing the work,” Burton said. “We understood that we shouldn’t recreate the wheel, but we should help expand and enrich and enhance those existing summer programs in ways that have been unprecedented in our city.”

With summer weeks away, Burton said the effort has been in the works since December, as his team anticipated potential cuts to summer programs.

“On June 1, we are going to be fully ready, fully active with summer programming, but it’s not going to start June 1,” Burton said. “The work has already started. Now we get to green light some of those other initiatives. We believe that what we’re going to be able to generate from this is not just summer activities, but actual outputs and outcomes that really change the trajectory of not only the students, the families, but also in how we view one another in the nonprofit space as collaborators.”

Burton said nonprofits interested in becoming involved in the Albany Summer Collective 2026 can reach out to United Way of Southwest Georgia for next steps.

>> LEARN MORE: Albany community launches ‘Summer Collective’ to serve 16,000+ kids <<

Recently, the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) announced they were seeking to expand their free summer youth camp, and have asked the Dougherty county commission for funding. The county is expected to vote on the request in the coming weeks.

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