If it takes a village to raise a child, then the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Mohawk Valley provide such villages in Utica and Rome.
The Clubs’ after-school programs at Columbus School and Bellamy Elementary School offer free care for children, many of whom would otherwise spend the time without supervision.
This child-centered service delivers the wraparound care that working and lower-income families need. Hundreds of children reap the benefits of hands-on, adult-guided activities, including reading and tutoring — to improve literacy, nurtured arts, guided recreation, nutritious snacks and exercise.
The program helps foster the future success of not only the youths involved, but of the villages they will become a part of.
Grants from The Community Foundation help make these programs possible.