The following summary about the state of child poverty in Colorado appeared in the NY Times last month.
"Colorado...experienced the nation's largest jump in the rate of children in poverty -- 73 percent -- from 2000 and 2006. The study cited a rise in the number of single-parent households, a shortage of jobs for lower wage workers in Colorado and a low high school graduation rate as factors."
In other reports, I have heard of single-moms living on seven-thousand dollars per year in our state. In families living at or below the poverty level there is no way to pay for things like after school programming. And children living in neighborhoods that a family with 7K per year can afford, are those who most need a safe place to be until their families get home from work.
This is why our program exists, and with the continued rise of child poverty in our state, why we must continue to exist. This is why we charge students a minimal fee to participate, and why we scholarship any child that cannot afford the $15 fee.
Children in our program are safe, and well-fed after school. The activities they participate in, created to inspire youth to lead healthy lifestyles, be engaged students, and become agents of change in their communities, are steps toward reversing this negative trend.
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