After-school programs could change future

It is quiet in my home as I start my day and my morning ritual of reading and enjoying my coffee. I choose my mug which happens to be the large blue mug given to me when serving on the community panel for The Capital.

Now, this mug holds a different meaning to me. One that calls forth a prayer each time

I reach for it. One that holds a new memory that will forever be seared in our hearts and minds.

I bring this up because now more than ever our children need a fighting chance. They need alternative options for escape from the stress of their lives, especially if they border below 26 percent poverty, which many do in the area I serve in Brooklyn Park at the Chesapeake Arts Center, a place I was raised and dearly love.

We have in Anne Arundel County a very generous philanthropic arm and many dedicated nonprofits serve on the front lines of need. Some may not sound as urgent as others but if we are not changing lives, then what is the point?

Art is the vehicle we drive at CAC. Where children can put their hopes and dreams in action and a place where some children can put their pain on a page, a canvas or lose themselves in throwing clay. A place that momentarily suspends time to let children be children. After-school care is a huge need in north county.

We have a waiting list of children who happily run through our doors from the middle school next door to participate in activities. When funded, we take afterschool programs to elementary schools to circumvent the need for transportation.

CAC alone has room for 75 children each day, and I expect many other programs throughout the county are poised and ready as well. However, funding for these important programs is our challenge. It may not sound critical, but when other unwholesome alternatives and activities are vying for our children’s attention, then how are we to combat it?

I think Frederick Douglass said it best, “It is easier to raise strong children than to repair broken men.”

Clearly, the person responsible for the horrific carnage at was a broken man. If our children are our future, I challenge all of us to find a way to make a difference in the lives of children, especially the most vulnerable.

As the year closes and many are looking to give a year-end gift, consider this, a gift now to fund an after-school program will reap benefits in a community 20 years from now and just maybe the face of the community will change.

That is why I believe we should give. The investment has long-term dividends and isn’t that what we want for Christmas … peace on Earth and good will toward men?