Weekly Media Roundup, April 8, 2020

With Coronavirus Shuttering Its After-School Program, South Reading Youth Initiative Sends Help to Students' Homes, Reading Eagle (Pennsylvania)

At the South Reading Youth Initiative afterschool program in Reading, Pennsylvania, about 100 first and second grade school students receive academic support and mentorship from college students in their community. To continue to support students’ academic growth while schools and programs are closed due to coronavirus, the program gave each student a 70-page booklet that included crafts, games, educational activities and more, along with school supplies. They were so popular that additional packets are being distributed to students outside the program. “Now is the time we have to circle the wagons,” Rudy Ruth, executive director of the Holleran Center, which created the program, told the Reading Eagle. “We have to all look out for each other.”

Amid Coronavirus Crisis, Few Are More Essential than the Child-Care Teams at Long Beach’s Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA, Press Telegram (California)

Children of essential workers are engaging in schoolwork, art projects, games, educational programming, fitness activities and more all day at the YMCA of Greater Long Beach in California and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach while schools are closed due to coronavirus. The afterschool staff are providing safe, educational spaces while employing social distancing measures, such as keeping students in small groups and six feet apart, while their parents are at work. “When the schools closed, I got worried about child care,” Celinda Cerda, a patient services technician, told the Press Telegram. “Now, when I leave my boys at the Boys & Girls Club, I leave with peace of mind, knowing my boys are safe and happy.”

Boys and Girls Clubs Still Serving At-Risk Youths During Stay-At-Home Order, Daily Herald (Illinois)

While schools and programs are closed due to coronavirus, Boys and Girls Clubs in the Chicago area are hosting daily social-emotional check-ins using the video conference platform Zoom. At these virtual gatherings, students discuss how they are feeling, share information about academic or art projects they’ve completed, and connect with friends and Club mentors. The Clubs are also working to meet the immediate needs of students and their families through activity kits, meal deliveries and more. “One of the biggest unique challenges is this sense of separation the kids are experiencing from the norm,” Drew Glassford, CEO for the Dundee Township chapter, told the Daily Herald. “The virtual program allows that emotional connection to continue when kids are feeling the most stressed they've felt in a long time.”

With Doors Closed, Boys & Girls Clubs Still Reaching Out, San Antonio Express-News (Texas)

Each weekday, the San Antonio Boys & Girls Clubs in Texas are providing a daily virtual ‘Power Hour’ to help students with their school assignments. The club is engaging in a variety of activities to support families while schools are closed due to coronavirus, including distributing healthy snacks, toilet paper, games and projects, streaming fitness-oriented YouTube videos, and more. “We asked, ‘What do you need most?’” Renee Garvens, chief development officer for the San Antonio Boys & Girls Clubs, told the San Antonio Express-News. “We knew that families were being overwhelmed by the virtual school experience.”