Yorkville Summer Kick-Off
By: Jackie Bong-Wright
A Family Affair
“How
do you spell ‘library’,” clown Ronald McDonald asked two kids, one from Somalia and the other from Mexico. “I am going
to read you a story and you raise your hands and stomp your feet and imitate
the thunder with a big ‘boom,’ OK? Everyone,
make the sound of the wind. Blow a long ‘pschiii’
and wave your hands up and down and around.”
Hai Nguyen, six, and his father from Vietnam, played along with full attention, waving and
stomping.
Along
with 25 others ranging from six months to 16 years, the children at the Yorkville
Cooperative housing complex in Fairfax learned something positive in a fun-filled atmosphere
with clown McDonald -- something other than the fighting, drinking and smoking parents
want their teenagers to avoid.
After
half-an-hour of the McDonald’s learning curve, the children joined 35 others in
the playground nearby. There, Danielle
Kar, 21, a volunteer, along with five other social work students from George Mason University, painted faces for girls and monitored games for
boys. The children ran around, bounced
up and down on inflatable jumpers, tossed rings, bowled and played soccer, not forgetting
to eat pizza and drink juice in between their calorie-burning activities. Under the supervision of 20 Fairfax County staff and volunteers, all had a ball. A fire truck was also parked in front of the
Yorkville Community office to familiarize residents in what to do in case of
emergency.
Services for all ages
Dorothy
Keenan, a supervisor in the Fairfax County Community and Recreation Services
(CRS), said this was an inter-agency effort to partner with private
organizations in providing services for residents. Yorkville was chosen to start a “Summer Kick-Off.” Invitations in multiple languages were sent
out to 236 ethnic families, totaling 1,500 people, to come and learn diverse services
the county offers. A number of programs
for youth, adults and seniors were highlighted.
Brochures with contact numbers and other information were tucked inside
give-away bags handed to parents, who were asked to volunteer their time and
bring their children to these summer programs.
Representatives from various agencies set up stalls and explained
in detail the services they provided to Yorkville apartment residents. Ibrahim Mohamed, coordinator of Service
Planning at Systems Management, said qualified residents could get food,
housing, transportation, health care, legal and financial assistance,
employment and training at different agencies.
In the next booth, Korean-born Wang Bang, a staff
member of the Park Authority, explained that her agency’s programs promoted
good character through recreation. She mentioned
that scholarships and free admission for the needy were offered at eight
recreational centers and various schools.
She said June-to-August summer camps for 11-14 year-olds included rock
climbing, kayaking, and water rafting at Kings Dominion and Six Flags.
Ngoc
Le, a 14-year old Vietnamese girl, signed up with Wang to take part in the
newly-formed soccer team at Yorkville. Kurdish
and Hispanic boys were interested in following suit.
Clyde
Jackson, head of Fairfax 4-H, and three of his staff also offered a four-day a
week summer camp for children from 9 to 13 in Front Royal, Virginia. They take part in swimming, arts and crafts,
martial arts, sports, and painting. They
are also taught public speaking and leadership skills. He said that 4-H focuses on the individual’s
social, spiritual. mental and physical development.
Next
to Jackson, Paulette Armstrong said that she supervises eight of the 15 Computer
Learning Centers Partnership (CLCP) located in housing developments,
neighborhood centers, schools and churches.
“It is a public-private partnership designed to bring business,
philanthropic, and government resources together to bridge the digital divide.
“Since
1995, approximately 5,000 underserved children and their families have been trained
in computer literacy, and 2,000 are currently enrolled in the program, mostly
after school hours,” Armstrong went on. The
program at Yorkville includes technology and English instruction, homework
assistance, and reading as well as enrichment activities and field trips. These are to ensure the development of the
whole child. Omar Osman is in charge of
teaching at Yorkville.
Another
component of Partnership is Project Discovery.
It encourages students to achieve educational excellence and pursue a
college education. Youths who are often
the first in their families to attend college are given the tools to excel in
their studies.
Exclaimed Paulette proudly, “CLCP
has received state and national awards for innovative programs that have had a
positive effect on children and youth.”
Doug
Taggart, outreach coordinator of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater
Washington, said that he was setting up a two-day gang-prevention program at
Yorkville. The curriculum is set up to
appeal to ages 8 to 18, and includes health and life skills in how to avoid
drugs and alcohol. It includes
excercises and field trips as well as tutoring in math and science.
Representatives
from the Health Departments, Family Services, and the Newcomer Service
explained the programs available for parents and seniors.
The
big question for Yorkville residents is how parents can be motivated and help their
children take advantage of the vast number of services Fairfax County provides.
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