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August 21, 2006, 5:00 pm PDT
after school programs
Quote From: smile4diI was impressed with JC Penny, the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Clubs. What they are doing is great. They are changing lives.
The problem with these programs is that kids do not have the transportation to get there (or home). Sure, in large metropolitan areas there is public transportation - but can only be used it if the kids have the change to drop in the bucket. I am betting the kids who desperatley want to attend the afterschool programs are among the poor. FOr they are the ones left out in the cold because it costs money to play afterschool sports or join an afterschool club.
My fear is that these programs will dry up, unable to even help those kids in walking distance of the programs - because of the small number of kids utilizing them.
If there was just an affordable way to transport these kids back and forth, this would make a huge impact on today's society. More kids would have higher self esteem, go on to college and espcecially STAY OUT OF TROUBLE.
Sorry to tbe the wet blanket.
I'm glad that there are organizations out there that want to help
our children. However, I recently moved to a rural area and there
aren't ANY after school programs or summer camp activities for any of
my children to attend. The nearest is over 25 miles away and I
don't really want to travel that far on back woods roads to get there.
The main people who seem to benefit from these Dr. Phil programs and
other companies like JC Penny (we don't even have one around here) are
the URBAN communities. Yes, our community here is a very poor
one, but because it is not a big city and only a small town, our
children are apparently not worthy of the attention that Dr. Phil and
others lavish on those larger communities.
If there was funding available, I would volunteer myself to help ...
but not even our public schools will provide anything that would help
any of our children in these small towns.
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