[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2012/0...19162049097.txt

Boys and Girls Club receives $10,000 grant

By Deborah Sederberg
Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 5:06 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — The Boys and Girls Club of Michigan City will use a $10,000 grant from the Neale Family Foundation Grant Award program to serve about 100 youngsters in its summer program.

The Neale Foundation funding is “strictly for the summer program,” said Allan Whitlow, club executive director. The Neale grant “will help us cover the part not covered by the Michigan City Enrichment Corporation grant,” he said.

Nora Akins, Strategic Management, and a member of the board of the Boys and Girls Club, said she was excited to announce the grant last Thursday at a board meeting.

According to educational research, children of middle-income families actually make slight academic gains during their summer vacation from school, said Whitlow, a retired associate superintendent with the Michigan City Area Schools and the Indianapolis Public Schools. “(Middle-income families) take vacations and visit museums,” he added. Families have an opportunity to reinforce what students have been learning in school, he noted.

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Studies have found that low-income children lose over the summer some of what they learned in the previous year.

The difference is a result of the more affluent homes exposing their children to intellectually stimulating trips and other similar activities.

The losses accumulate each year so that by the end of the fifth grade, summer learning differences result in low-income children falling more than two years behind in verbal achievement of peers of middle-income families and over one year behind in math achievement.

The club’s summer program changes that imbalance because students who participate are engaged through fun and exciting interactive and hands-on activities that reinforce important social and educational skills, such as reading, writing, speaking, listening, computing, problem solving and appropriate social skills. Through this skill-building, the club’s summer program helps young people explore hobbies, develop new talents and practice the skills they need for success in school.

Additionally, the club creates opportunities for its members to develop good character and citizenship through community service projects, such as partnering with the Elston Grove Neighborhood Association to plant, care for, harvest and share produce with residents in that section of the city.

Whitlow said members of The Boys and Girls Club join several other other youth groups to provide a diverse summer experience for youngsters, including offering a program at Purdue University North Central, swimming, gardening and the Challenge Education program at Joy School.

Gary Neale was chairman and CEO of NiSource until his retirement in 2007. He and his wife Sandy Neale established the Neale Family Foundation to support programs that enhance quality of life by responding to emerging community needs.

“The Neale Family Foundation feels that the club’s summer program exemplifies their mission of promoting self-sufficiency, excellence and innovation which enhances the quality of life through shared resources for the public good,” the press release noted.

Whitlow said he and his club are thrilled with the contribution and added, “We are extremely thankful that the Neale Foundation determined that our club’s programs meet its criteria for funding. The foundation’s support will help more than 100 members in our summer program and will enable us to provide the services our members enjoy and deserve.”