Nappanee Looks To Form Boys And Girls Club
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
NAPPANEE - It's a growing concern in cities large and small - how to keep children off the streets and enrich their minds? The community of Nappanee has emerged as the latest contender in the fight to win back the youth.
During Monday's common council session, John Leavitt and Kevin Deary offered a presentation on implementing a Boys and Girls Club in the area.
To do so, the plan would need about $100,000, and Monday's presentation was the first of several to council and other organizations possibly interested in supporting the idea.
Council agreed to consider what could be contributed as budget time draws nearer.
Deary is the director for the Goshen chapter of the Boys and Girls Club, which boasts an enrollment of more than 700 children.
The Boys and Girls Club, a project funded largely through the United Way, is geared toward children ages 6 to 18 who have been targeted as educationally "at risk" and/or latchkey kids.
The Goshen branch of the Club operates five days a week, from 2:30 until 9 p.m., and features activities ranging from games to crafts to a special tutoring program known as the "Power Hour."
The program costs only $5 annually per child, and if the fee is a hardship to a family, the child does not pay. Transportation has also been provided, free of charge, where the kids are picked up from schools and taken to the center until their parents can take them home.
Leavitt, who serves on the city's park and library boards and is active in the Elkhart County chapter of the United Way, has been encouraged by the success of the Goshen program. He has been working closely with Deary and others in Nappanee to launch the same sort of program.
He indicated that he has heard some feedback from residents and their children, bemoaning the notion that there is "nothing to do" in Nappanee. While he admitted that he does not necessarily agree with the assessment, he and others are anxious to provide a safe and worthwhile alternative and supplement to those children who may not be actively involved in extracurricular or church functions.
The endeavor has received support from the council members. Two members, Tom Lehman and Bill Fales, have been to the Goshen club to witness first-hand the changes in the children. "I think there's some opportunity here that we could really build on," Fales said.
Deary stressed that the club would not be a day-care center.
What the gentlemen were bringing to the council members was a desire to secure an undetermined amount of funds, to be set aside in the 1998 budget, to get the club off the ground. Deary and Leavitt also stressed that the community must take a proactive stance in backing the project.
The Rev. Ken Bontreger, from North Main Street Mennonite Church, noted the importance of the church sector in involving their efforts. And resident Lori Freet spoke of her enthusiasm for the club's formation and offered to serve in whatever capacity necessary to help the program begin.
Lehman asked Leavitt and Deary how much money would be needed to make a start. Leavitt estimated that they would need to raise approximately $100,000, funds that would be used for programs and supplies, hiring a unit director and installing part-time staff.
Leavitt indicated that he and Deary are preparing to scope out potential buildings that would be suitable.
Leavitt said that whatever the council could contribute, he and others would explain the proposal to other civic organizations and churches to ask for their monetary help. [[In-content Ad]]
NAPPANEE - It's a growing concern in cities large and small - how to keep children off the streets and enrich their minds? The community of Nappanee has emerged as the latest contender in the fight to win back the youth.
During Monday's common council session, John Leavitt and Kevin Deary offered a presentation on implementing a Boys and Girls Club in the area.
To do so, the plan would need about $100,000, and Monday's presentation was the first of several to council and other organizations possibly interested in supporting the idea.
Council agreed to consider what could be contributed as budget time draws nearer.
Deary is the director for the Goshen chapter of the Boys and Girls Club, which boasts an enrollment of more than 700 children.
The Boys and Girls Club, a project funded largely through the United Way, is geared toward children ages 6 to 18 who have been targeted as educationally "at risk" and/or latchkey kids.
The Goshen branch of the Club operates five days a week, from 2:30 until 9 p.m., and features activities ranging from games to crafts to a special tutoring program known as the "Power Hour."
The program costs only $5 annually per child, and if the fee is a hardship to a family, the child does not pay. Transportation has also been provided, free of charge, where the kids are picked up from schools and taken to the center until their parents can take them home.
Leavitt, who serves on the city's park and library boards and is active in the Elkhart County chapter of the United Way, has been encouraged by the success of the Goshen program. He has been working closely with Deary and others in Nappanee to launch the same sort of program.
He indicated that he has heard some feedback from residents and their children, bemoaning the notion that there is "nothing to do" in Nappanee. While he admitted that he does not necessarily agree with the assessment, he and others are anxious to provide a safe and worthwhile alternative and supplement to those children who may not be actively involved in extracurricular or church functions.
The endeavor has received support from the council members. Two members, Tom Lehman and Bill Fales, have been to the Goshen club to witness first-hand the changes in the children. "I think there's some opportunity here that we could really build on," Fales said.
Deary stressed that the club would not be a day-care center.
What the gentlemen were bringing to the council members was a desire to secure an undetermined amount of funds, to be set aside in the 1998 budget, to get the club off the ground. Deary and Leavitt also stressed that the community must take a proactive stance in backing the project.
The Rev. Ken Bontreger, from North Main Street Mennonite Church, noted the importance of the church sector in involving their efforts. And resident Lori Freet spoke of her enthusiasm for the club's formation and offered to serve in whatever capacity necessary to help the program begin.
Lehman asked Leavitt and Deary how much money would be needed to make a start. Leavitt estimated that they would need to raise approximately $100,000, funds that would be used for programs and supplies, hiring a unit director and installing part-time staff.
Leavitt indicated that he and Deary are preparing to scope out potential buildings that would be suitable.
Leavitt said that whatever the council could contribute, he and others would explain the proposal to other civic organizations and churches to ask for their monetary help. [[In-content Ad]]