It’s no secret: the last few decades have seen fundamental changes to the way we live and work.
These days, most families are either single-parent families or families with both parents working; when school lets out for the afternoon, many children return to an empty home.
“Yes, giving kids something positive and healthy to do in the hours after school is important,” says Jorden Nigro, who, as manager of the Zach Gordon Youth Center, spearheads the “Body and Mind” (BAM) afterschool program at both Floyd Dryden and Dzantik’i Heeni Middle Schools.
“More than that, afterschool activities let kids develop skills and explore interests,” she explains. “Maybe most importantly, they foster connections with the community and each other.”
Now in its fifth year, BAM offers a wide variety of 90-minute activities — at least one per day, although sometimes several—free to all Juneau middle-schoolers. From 3 p.m. to 4:25 p.m., Monday through Thursday (activity buses don’t run on Fridays) students can sign up for workshops in everything from babysitting to bike repair, cooking to co-ed flag football, archery, juggling and outdoor leadership — even hip-hopping. BAM courses are free to all students, and led entirely by partner organizations and community volunteers (all thoroughly background checked).
“People teach all sorts of things,” said Nigro. She, herself, recently taught Italian cooking. “If the adults are really excited, the kids are really excited.”
BAM represents a coordinated approach to community service —“Live United,” in action. In addition to individual volunteers, the program combines the efforts of Sealaska, Discovery Southeast, AWARE and Bartlett Regional Hospital, all of which fund BAM workshops, as well as Juneau Public Schools, benefactor of program space.
The BAM afterschool program has strong support from the United Way of Southeast Alaska in several different ways. For one, the United Way helps fund healthy snacks; as anyone who works with kids can attest, a program’s success often hinges on the strength of its snacks. United Way grants also assist with program supplies, professional support for more involved activities and even “special” equipment such as ice cream machines, for ice cream-making workshops sponsored by Coppa, and athletic shoes for “Heart & Soul” Girls on the Run, sponsored by AWARE.
“Over the years Zach Gordon Youth Center has worked with United Way of Southeast Alaska on so many projects,” Nigro said. “It really is a priceless community resource.”
BAM traces its start to the 2009 closure of the Juneau Boys and Girls Club, a devastating loss for a city already struggling with childcare. But, as they say, with every end comes a beginning. Soon, a broad alliance formed — the Juneau Afterschool Coalition — comprised of the school district, multiple youth serving agencies and Juneau’s Rotary Clubs.
“The group starting by asking … what do we really need?” Nigro said. The answer: wholesale adult-supervised afterschool activities.
Quickly enough, the community rallied to supply the missing piece, and BAM! — the Body and Mind Afterschool program was born, originally managed by Catholic Community Service. Two years ago, BAM officially moved under the purview of Juneau’s Parks and Recreation Department; Zack Gordon Youth Center is a division of Parks and Rec.
“Not only does BAM fit nicely with Zach Gordon Youth Center’s overall mission of encouraging wellness and growth, connecting youth and engaging the community,” says Nigro. “I think it demonstrates the city’s commitment to its younger citizens.”
And the program keeps growing, which can be both a burden and a boon.
“We rely heavily on volunteers for programming, and those volunteers turn over as life presents new opportunities; growth becomes a challenge,” she said.
To that end, BAM seeks to develop a deeper, less fluid volunteer pool through stronger training, stressing consistency, transitions and classroom management.
“Everyone has something to offer,” Nigro said. “We can help volunteers figure out what would be the best fit for them. The rest is just a matter of structuring a 90-minute class.”
Of course, the students aren’t the program’s only beneficiaries.
“The kids get something out of it, but so do the volunteers—volunteering at BAM is fun,” Nigro said.
“I spend most of my day taking care of admin work,” she said. “It’s a pretty great perk to get to teach a group of middle schoolers how to make tomato sauce.”
• Geoff Kirsch wrote this on behalf of United Way of Southeast Alaska as part of a project profiling the achievements of its Community Impact Grant Recipients. To learn more about, donate to or volunteer with the Zack Gordon Youth Center, visit http://www.juneau.org/parkrec/youthcenter. To learn more about “Living United,” the United Way of Southeast Alaska or any of its partner agencies visit www.unitedwayseak.org.
