Huntsville's Promise
Our Children Our Future
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Asset of the Week Community Support By Marjean Creager Kids Reach, and YMCA President of the Board of Directors I grew up in a Leave it to Beaver childhood. Between parents, church and school, as well as baseball tap and ballet, summer recreation at the gym and just plain play time with neighborhood talent shows and newspapers, fort building and day-dreaming on the back porch, while making pictures of the clouds. We learned the rules of the road by working things out as kids can do. We were safe, and life was good. Now, life seems to be channeled through a 24-7, climate controlled world where the stakes are higher. Often times parents work two jobs and families live in a world that seems faster and more tired. Many kids seem to be at loose ends too much, too soon. They grow up so quickly, and sometimes I am amazed at how soon simple innocence has ended. Some might argue that the children in our town are not the community’s responsibility. Somehow I have never been able to keep life that simple. I propose that all of us make this a place of opportunity and safety for all kids. It will come back to us in so many ways. When we give, we always receive. There are many youth-oriented programs in Huntsville. Huntsville’s Promise, the Huntsville Youth Council, the Huntsville Family YMCA, Walker County Boys & Girls Club, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, 4-H, CASA, and the Common Ground Mentoring Program, just to name a few. These are places where we can give. Through financial contributions, volunteering our time and talents, being a mentor, providing transportation or tutoring, you can inspire and make a hug difference. Just make an effort to ask them what they need and how you can help. Support the children in your life. Go to a neighbor’s ball game or dance recital. Support the church youth events. Go to a high school play. You will never know how much your presence could mean to a child. We as community youth groups can reach for higher ground by supporting one another by collaborating and working together. Through planning some shared community events, we expand the opportunities and the fun. While the funding of these programs seems competitive, we can network. Perhaps we can compliment one another’s programs by combining ideas, spaces and programs. By diversifying we could expand to reach more kids. Perhaps we could meet together several times a year and communicate possibilities of ways to collaborate. I dream of a recreation center for families and kids. Through community efforts this dream could work for all of us. I don’t know how or where, but I do think that we are far closer to this happening if we can all work together. Kids want to contribute and be counted. They want to make a difference. We have the unique opportunity in Huntsville to show children how valuable they are. We have the challenge to prove to ourselves how we can be the community they need. When we do this, we are not only making a difference, we are literally creating a different place. Step by step we practice to contribute and collaborate and affect change. One good deed leads to another. One of my heroes, Mr. Rogers says it better. These are his words from a Public Service Announcement following the attacks of 9/11: If you grew up in our Neighborhood, you may remember how sometimes we talked about difficult things. There were days, even beautiful days…that weren’t happy. In fact, there were some that were really sad. Well, we’ve had a lot of days like that in our whole world. We’ve seen what some people do when they don’t know what to do with their anger. I’m convinced that when we help our children find healthy ways of dealing with their feelings, ways that won’t hurt them or anyone else, we’re helping to make the world a safer, better place. I would like to tell you what I often told you when you were much younger. I like you just the way you are. And what’s more, I’m so grateful to you for helping the children in your life to know that you’ll do everything you can to keep them safe and express their feelings in ways that will bring healing in many different neighborhoods. Huntsville can help make this happen. For more information on finding or helping with any youth program or if interested in collaborating with youth events of planning, please call the Huntsville’s Promise office at 291-5950. Mr. Scott Atnip will be glad to help. |
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