YMCA programs provide a safe plan for children after school

Last year, the Duluth Area Family YMCA’s afterschool programs served about 500 students from area elementary schools. During 2011, the numbers have grown as the YMCA forms coalitions with local agencies and gains support from elementary schools.

“When students don’t have a safe place to go after school, that leads to higher instances of crime and an increase in unsafe decisions. Students need that safe place to go after school,” said Cheryl Skafte, director of academic mentoring and tutoring at the YMCA. “Afterschool programs provide a way of engaging students in activities that sometimes don’t happen in school.”

Between 3 and 6 p.m., hundreds of students from kindergarten through eighth grade can be found at area elementary schools participating in the YMCA afterschool programs.

With the goal of providing students with social and academic support, these afterschool programs allow students time to interact and learn from positive adult role models.

“The programs are so important because we know that the learning students do in the classroom has to be supported by what they do after school,” Skafte said. “We want to take learning and apply it to life and hands-on experiences.”

The YMCA has a long history of providing activities for youth in the community to learn and grow since it was established in 1964. Yet, Warthesen said, that student mentoring was taking place even in the late 1930s.

Afterschool programs have been developing ever since. In 1991, the YMCA’s student mentoring program really got going in local elementary schools after it began to partner with local agencies such as the Mentor Duluth Cooperative. Getting involved with Lester Park Elementary School spurred interest at the YMCA to reach out to other schools.

Engaging activities

One of the goals of the Out-of-School-Time program is to provide students with positive adult role models to help them develop life skills and social development.

“We do this through enrichment activities,” said Amber Warthesen, Out-of-School-Time programs director. “Small group and team activities foster a youth voice that let students have input on what goes on in the program.”

Each participating elementary school has clubs that allow students to choose activities they are interested in, and engage in them, during the course of the afternoon.

Warthesen said many of these clubs focus on the arts, with the YMCA recently teaming up with the Duluth-Superior Orchestra to offer afterschool sessions on singing and dancing. The program has started many other clubs that allow students to take part in the arts.

The YMCA’s afterschool program starts in September and runs until the end of the school year. A summer program called “Bridge” also takes place at the YMCA.

This program usually centers on activities around nature and being outdoors, Warthesen said. Yet, the YMCA has made it a goal to focus its programs on academics and extending learning to outside of the classroom.

“There are a lot of lessons that we tie to content from the school day,” Warthesen said. “Our big goals are to increase success in academics for children and to promote regular attendance in school.”

Academic mentoring

As a collaborative partner with other local agencies, the YMCA is able to get volunteers from around the community to serve as academic mentors for children in area elementary schools. YMCA staff and volunteers attend afterschool programs to provide students support with their schoolwork.

In the mentoring component of the program, students are paired adults who assist them with homework.

“Part of it is really just being there to say, ‘I believe in you, and I know you can do this,’” Skafte said. “It’s sometimes not about figuring out the answer to the math problem but targeting the fear involved around the math problem.”

Because it aims to increase the graduation rate in the community, the YMCA has decided to partner with community agencies.

“We all have to come together on this because the problem that we are facing cannot be fixed by one agency,” Skafte said. ‘There is a lot that we need to do to get our overall graduation rate up and to narrow the gap that exists for people of color in this community.”

Skafte said she hopes an academic component to the afterschool programs reinforces the idea that school is essential to the lives of children. “Afterschool programs are a great place for children to have that support from mentors,” she said.

with homework.

“Part of it is really just being there to say, ‘I believe in you, and I know you can do this,’” Skafte said. “It’s sometimes not about figuring out the answer to the math problem but targeting the fear involved around the math problem.”

Because it aims to increase graduation rate in the community, the YMCA has decided to partner with community agencies.

“We all have to come together on this because the problem that we are facing cannot be fixed by one agency,” Skafte said. ‘There is a lot that we need to do to get our overall graduation rate up and to narrow the gap that exists for people of color in this community.”

Skafte said she hopes an academic component to the afterschool programs reinforces the idea that school is essential to the lives of children. “Afterschool programs are a great place for children to have that support from mentors,” she said.

“Pennies from Heaven” campaign supports YMCA afterschool programs

From Wednesday, Nov. 30 to Monday, Dec. 12, the community will get a chance to support the YMCA

afterschool programs when shopping at the JCPenney in Miller Hill Mall.

The “Pennies from Heaven” event allows shoppers to donate spare change to the YMCA when they go through the checkout. The Duluth Area Family YMCA is one of 1,100 afterschool organizations across the

country that is benefitting from this campaign.

“The funds that are collected go directly to our program and are put toward scholarships for children who would not be able to participate in the programs otherwise,” Warthesen said. “The money goes right back to

the kids.”

In 2010, JCPenney customers donated $6,880 to the Y’s Out-of-School-Time programs. This is the fourth and final “Pennies from Heaven” event of the year that

supports the YMCA, which is one of the area’s leading nonprofit organizations.

“It takes the support of our entire community to make it possible for more kids to be involved in a

positive learning environment after school,” Warthesen said. “As customers shop JCPenney this holiday season, we hope they will keep this mission in mind so that the social and academic learning opportunities we provide after school will continue to be available to Duluth

students.”

For more information, visit www.duluthymca.org.

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