Starke County Youth Club Executive Director Irene Szakonyi updated the Starke County Council members on what projects students are working on in the after school program.
She mentioned that Youth Lead is one of the special programs that students are participating in to help them create the footsteps of leadership.
“It is an evidence-based substance abuse prevention program,” said Szakonyi. “A number of our teens engage in leadership skills with this program where they facilitate this project with our staff. As a matter of fact, they were the ones who decided that as their capstone event for the end, what they’re doing with all of the kids in Club, is raising food donations for the food pantry. We want them to make healthy choices and we want them to abstain from risky behaviors, but we also want them to lead in this community.”
The Starke County Youth Club provides after school academics and extra curricular activities to the three school corporations in the county.
“We have about 370 in the after school program right now across the county. What we know about our kids is that the more they’re at Club, the more positive benefits there are for them – whether that’s a personal thing or academic thing. We know that our kids who regularly attend have better outcomes in the classroom like better work habits, turning in their homework and better grades. We also predict that 80 percent of our kids this year alone will reach their growth targets in Math and Language Arts on their local assessments.”
The youth club’s annual fundraising radiothon is scheduled for Friday, May 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and all are invited to listen to testimonials from students and parents who attend and those who support the program. Donations will be accepted that day to help keep the programs going in the county.
