Weekly Media Roundup: December 7, 2022

Season for Sharing: From Homework to Job Skills, Saint Florian Center Helps At-Risk Kids, Indianapolis Star (Indiana)

Motivated by the lack of safe, affordable recreation options for children, Indianapolis Fire Department Battalion Chief Anthony Williamson founded the Saint Florian Center nearly 30 years ago in Indianapolis, Indiana. “We would see kids that were just in despair. They were despondent. You could see the looks on their faces, like they didn't have hope. … And so we were like, ‘We’ve got to be able to do more,’” Williamson told the Indianapolis Star. The center, named after the patron saint of firefighters, hosts summer camps and afterschool programs that teach students leadership and survival skills as well as provide fitness activities, educational support, field trips and community service opportunities.

Minneapolis Schools, Police Join Forces to Relaunch After-School Program, CBS News Minnesota (Minnesota)

After a three-year hiatus, the Minneapolis Police Activities League (PAL) is partnering with four local elementary schools to provide afterschool programs that nurture relationships and build community involvement. The Minneapolis PAL program closed in 2019 due to lack of funds and staffing but a group of police officers and school principals hope to restore the program. “It does take a village, and it takes every one of us. The schools, the police department, the various partnerships – all very important to build our community strong,” Laura Cavender, associate superintendent of Minneapolis Public Schools, told CBS News Minnesota. Four schools will initially host the pilot program with the goal of expanding to additional schools.

Finish Strong Supports Poughkeepsie Youth with Programs, Holiday Helping Hand Gift Cards, Poughkeepsie Journal (New York)

At the Finish Strong wellness center afterschool program in Poughkeepsie, New York, students access mental health services and try new activities such as jiu-jitsu, filmmaking, photography, and gaming. The free trauma-informed program is designed to provide a safe space for students to connect with caring adults and discover their passions. “The reality is that some of my kids are growing up to some hardships, and so Finish Strong is looked at as like a second home,” Founder Dennis Woodbine told the Poughkeepsie Journal. “A place where they could come and get the support that they need.” Thanks to a donation from Holiday Helping Hand, a partnership between the Poughkeepsie Journal and the United Way of the Dutchess-Orange Region, 20 Finish Strong students received Barnes & Noble gift cards for the holidays.

How This Afterschool Program is Helping Students in Arkansas, THV 11 (Arkansas)

The eStem Charter School in Little Rock, Arkansas created the IGNITE afterschool program to help students grow both academically and emotionally. In addition to homework help from teachers and a daily snack, the program offers a wide range of enrichment classes, including marketing, mindful movement, crochet, robotics, and more. “It is immensely important that kids have a place to go and something to do after school,” Lori Smith, executive director of elementary schools at eStem, told THV 11.  “We’re hoping that we can pique their interest and get them learning in something that will be a lifelong activity for them to do.”