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  • Matt Huber/Commercial-News Georgetown-Ridge Farm Teen Reach member Katie Erickson pitches the ball Wednesday as members play kickball during the Teen Reach meeting at the Georgetown-Ridge Farm Church of Christ. Matt Huber/Commercial-News

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July 29, 2010

Teen Reach back in business — for now

BY MIKE HELENTHAL Commercial-News

GEORGETOWN — For one day, at least, Kimberly David didn’t have to think about where the next dollar was coming from.

David opened the doors of the Georgetown First Church of Christ fellowship hall at 10 a.m. Wednesday, resuscitating the on-again, off-again Teen Reach program for the rest of the month.

Project Success had to shut the Georgetown-Ridge Farm site down after school let out for the summer due to undelivered payments from the state dating back to last year.

It reopened Wednesday for a shortened, two-day-a-week program thanks to more than $3,000 in local donations, which leaders hope will last through the end of the month. For now, the group will meet 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Aug. 5, 10 and 12 at the church.

“We’ll wait to see about the last weeks of August,” David said. “We’ll be back at the school if we’re able to keep going.”

David said she was simply happy to have the program back in service and kids playing kickball, though she was hoping for a better turnout.

Just eight turned out for the “grand re-opening,” a number David credited to the continued uncertainty of the program.

“I was hoping we would be swarmed with kids,” she said, “but it’s been shut down so many times we just can’t get a rhythm going.”

Since it’s inception in 1998, Teen Reach has regularly served 300 students in Vermilion County. The Georgetown-Ridge Town roster has 50 participants, about half of whom attend regularly.

The state is still behind in paying almost half of Teen Reach’s $200,000 annual budget and hasn’t sent a payment this year. Project Success has an annual budget of $1 million and operates six other teen-outreach and after-school programs.

Alice Kirby, executive director of Project Success, said in June that constant funding uncertainty for Teen Reach had led her to seek other avenues, including a possible partnership with the United Way.

“It’s not secure funding,” Kirby said. “Every year we’ve had this. I end up spending all of my time trying to find funds, and what I want to do is spend time with the kids and training staff. I don’t get that opportunity.”

Teen Reach has three other sites in Vermilion County, including two in Danville and one in Hoopeston, and all have offered summer programming through community donations.

For more information contact David at 822-2580 or kdavid@vcprojectsuccess.org.

 

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