I spent President's Day weekend visiting my fiancé's family in the Inland Empire of the Los Angeles area. They live in an area where fast food chains run rampant and apathy towards healthy habits is too common. My fiancé has two younger siblings, twelve and eight years old. While they are bright and kind-hearted, their food options, limited by their parents' income and their surroundings, are starting to take a toll.
Both of them are in an after-school program. A typical day in their after-school program goes something like this: one hour of homework, one hour of free time or outside play, and the rest of their time spent on computers. Upon hearing this, I was quite taken aback. Perhaps it's that I've been working with America SCORES for too long and have forgotten the other side of after-school: the limited options, the uncoordinated activities, the apathetic teens who feign interest in their jobs. I had to ask myself, are these children really benefiting from free play and computer time?
This was a reminder to me about how dramatically different the America SCORES approach to youth development is. Six days a week, coordinated soccer leagues, literacy activities, nurtured voices and healthy bodies. This is the program my fiancé's siblings and thousands of other children need to help them avoid serious health issues in the future. It breaks my heart that they will not have these opportunities and that they are worse off because of it.
However, America SCORES Bay Area is reaching 1,000 children in the Bay Area and I am grateful for that. Those children will have these opportunities and will be healthier and happier because of it. Their futures are looking brighter.
Dan Schwer
Communications Director
Both of them are in an after-school program. A typical day in their after-school program goes something like this: one hour of homework, one hour of free time or outside play, and the rest of their time spent on computers. Upon hearing this, I was quite taken aback. Perhaps it's that I've been working with America SCORES for too long and have forgotten the other side of after-school: the limited options, the uncoordinated activities, the apathetic teens who feign interest in their jobs. I had to ask myself, are these children really benefiting from free play and computer time?
This was a reminder to me about how dramatically different the America SCORES approach to youth development is. Six days a week, coordinated soccer leagues, literacy activities, nurtured voices and healthy bodies. This is the program my fiancé's siblings and thousands of other children need to help them avoid serious health issues in the future. It breaks my heart that they will not have these opportunities and that they are worse off because of it.
However, America SCORES Bay Area is reaching 1,000 children in the Bay Area and I am grateful for that. Those children will have these opportunities and will be healthier and happier because of it. Their futures are looking brighter.
Dan Schwer
Communications Director
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