Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/13895
County Residents Gear Up to Stuff the Bus by DR. SHANESSA FENNER School will be starting soon and the Cumberland County School System wants to make sure that students are prepared by having the “Help Stuff the Bus” initiative on Tax Free Friday, Aug. 6 from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. at all Wal-Mart locations. The collection sites are on Raeford Road, Skibo Road, Ramsey Street, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Cumberland County School employees will be at each Wal- Mart location collecting donations of school supplies from sun up to sun down. “This is the third year we have had this school-supply drive,” said Pamela Story, Cumberland County Schools’ social work coordinator. “We are partnering with Operation Home Front and will distribute the donations to the homeless and less fortunate students in the Cumberland County and Fort Bragg School Systems. Story added that last school year more than 400 backpacks were given to Cumberland County School students and this year’s goal is to stuff 600 backpacks. More than 600 homeless students have been identifi ed in Cumberland County Schools for the 2010-2011 school year. The items most needed include backpacks, three-ring binders, pocket folders, loose leaf paper, mechanical and colored pencils, school uniforms, hand sanitizer, The Y: Building Strong Kids, Families, Communities by STEPHANIE CRIDER If you are looking for a powerhouse of an organization that packs a lot of punch for Fayetteville area kids — and their families — check out the YMCA. Their motto is building strong kids, strong families and strong communities. They are committed to putting Christian principles into practice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all. Locally, the YMCA has two sites, one on Fort Bragg Road and one on Ellison Street in Hope Mills. By providing reasonable membership rates that start at $12 a month for youth and go up to $90 per month for a family of four, the YMCA looks to make healthy living affordable. Swimming lessons are available at the Rae O Hope pool on Hope Mills Road as well as the Fort Bragg Road indoor pool. The Rae O Hope outdoor pool also offers seasonal membership as well. With school out for the summer, the YMCA is adding day camps to their repertoire. Through Aug.13 preschool discovery camp is offered for children between the ages of three and fi ve who have not yet attended kindergarten. According to the website “The curriculum is an enhanced version of our P.R.E.P. (Preschool Recreation and Education Program) which runs during the regular school year with additional fi eld trips and activities such a swimming and nature hikes.” This camp is offered at the Hope Mills location. The Summer Blockbuster camp is offered at both locations. It runs from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is a new theme every week that includes special guests and fi eld trips. Kids have to be between 8 UCW JULY 28-AUGUST 3, 2010 the ages of fi ve and 12 to attend. “Summer camp programs go on one fi eld trip at least once a week, they go swimming, and we do arts and crafts,” said Audraw Williams, YMCA site director. “The theme this year is blockbuster. We take little movies and show it to the parents at the end of each week. Basically we pick a movie and we make arts and crafts related to that movie.” There is a sports program that accommodates kids from three to nine years old. The goal here is to help children learn/ develop basic skills and rules, teamwork and confi dence. Leagues offered are basketball, soccer, fl ag football and baseball. “We offer cheerleding and gymnastics in September too,” said Williams. “We have a school of dance that is called Angelic Arts. Our swim team is a year-round program that serves ages 5 and up.” Times are tough all over and nonprofi ts are no exception, but the local YMCA continues to serve the community, and do their best to reach as many people as possible. “We are a nonprofi t and it is all about community,” said Williams. “To make it affordable for everybody to use is one of our missions. We don’t turn anybody away. We try to get everybody into the facility.” For more information visit www.fayettevilleymca. org or call 323-0800. STEPHANIE CRIDER, Staff Writer. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. marble composition books, and other items. “The donations we collect reduces the amount we must spend from our McKinney Vento Homeless Education Grant that assists students in homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters and transitional housing,” said Story. “The items will be distributed after August 18,” she noted, adding that families in need of school supplies should contact the school social worker at their child’s school. “We are proud to add the Spring Lake Wal-Mart as a collection site this year,” said Story. “We are overwhelmed by the number of volunteers who have agreed to help out such as athletes, school clubs, sororities, the police department, school social workers, banks, concerned citizens, and we hope to see everyone at one of the area Wal-Mart locations.” Donations are also being accepted at the CCS Social Work offi ce located at 2465 Gillespie St. between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For more information call 678-2419 or 678-7014. DR. SHANESSA FENNER, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. JAC Intervenes to Make Life Better for Children by STEPHANIE CRIDER Raising kids can be tricky, even in the best of circumstances. Parents often do their best and still struggle as they watch their youngsters make poor choices, fall in with the wrong crowd and end up facing serious consequences. Quite often it can seem like there is no one to turn to until it is too late and little Johnny or Suzy is facing the judge in juvenile court. It doesn’t have to be that way. The Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC), in its own words, was established to serve as the focal point within the community in assessing the underlying problems of at-risk youth for parents, schools, law enforcement and the courts. The agency serves a wide range of youth and their families, everything from kids who are under court supervision to at-risk kids who have yet to fi nd themselves in big trouble but seem to be headed in that direction. “We get referrals that come from schools — especially the school resource offi cers. Mental health also sends us kids,” said Richard Alligood, JAC program manager. “Our largest number of referrals though, come from parents who have heard about our services and law enforcement offi cers who get calls from parents who are having diffi culty and seeking advice as to which way to go.” When families come to the JAC, they are screened and interviewed separately and then given a case manager. The goal is for the case manager to help get these families with at-risk kids plugged in to the resources that they need, whether it is a referral to mental health, counseling services or one of the many other programs available through the system. “Our goal is to spend about six months on each case,” said Alligood. “We do a lot of the initial screening and interviewing and then put these kids in touch with the people that can help them. After about six months we can usually extricate ourselves from the situation and let them continue on their course of treatment.” Of course, if a child needs a case manager for more than six months that is not a problem. JAC is about doing the right thing and changing lives. The JAC is a nonprofi t organization and operates under the umbrella organization CommuniCare. On a budget of just under $400,000 they keep a pretty steady case load of about 200 families. In the fi scal year 2008/2009, 49.73 percent of their clients saw problems either eliminated or reduced at home and 54.75 percent experienced a reduction or elimination of problems at school. Of course, a large part of the success or failure of a student in these programs is directly related to the amount of support they get from the adults who are responsible for them. “We generally see three types of parents,” said Alligood. “There are the parents who are 100 percent dedicated and willing to do whatever they can to help their child be successful.” Then there are the parents who will participate in the programs and support their kids when it is convenient. “These kids have a little bit of a tougher time,” said Alligood. “But it is the parents who don’t participate at all that really hinder their child’s progress. How can a young person attend an event if they can’t drive and mom or dad won’t bring them? We serve kids who are 6- to 17-years- old. Most of them can’t drive.” For more information about JAC and other great programs that CommuniCare offers visit www.cccommunicare.org. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM