Arthur Blank Family Foundation

Dianne K. Garnett and Deva Hirsch

School is out for the summer. Lowcountry young people are searching for safe and productive things to do with their time.

But many youth programs are struggling and need support.

The temporary trailers that house the after-school program run by the Boys & Girls Club in Bluffton are bursting at the seams.

A total of 250 young people squeeze into the club's borrowed quarters behind Michael C. Riley Elementary School, hungry to take advantage of the computer lab, arts and crafts, games, music and dance classes offered there.

The club's director estimates there are 1,000 children who would like to join the program today -- if the resources existed. The club's staff also knows firsthand the challenges of finding enough resources to keep rural kids off the streets during after-school and summertime hours.

But now momentum is growing behind efforts to create more opportunities for Lowcountry youths.

This spring a series of community forums on the unmet needs of our local youths brought together people from grassroots organizations, local governments, businesses, and service groups, faith-based and educational institutions.

They met across Colleton, Jasper, Hampton and Beaufort counties to discuss results of a recent study, funded by the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, Heritage Classic Foundation and Hilton Head Island Foundation.

The study found that out-of-school programs in our area are under-funded and inadequate, threatening the healthy development of our youths and limiting their future success.

Nearly seven out of 10 young people in the four counties said they had nowhere to go and nothing to do from 3 to 7 p.m.

That's not good. National research tells us that youths left unsupervised outside of school hours are at much higher risk for engaging in unhealthy behaviors such as drug use, sex and criminal activity.

On the flip side, research proves a positive correlation between participation in constructive out-of-school programs and success in the classroom.

Opinions raised at the forums were diverse. Yet those in attendance agreed that by working more closely together, better results are possible.

The report's findings form the cornerstone of a unique partnership called "School's Out Lowcountry," to coordinate and support youth programs. By connecting the strengths of existing programs, the partnership can reduce duplication and identify gaps.

With funding from our foundations, the network will support community planning and spark local collaboration. It will analyze local needs and then attempt to match them with resources. It will also provide staff development and assist youth-service groups in other ways. A Web site will be created to provide a regional listing of activities available to young people looking for positive ways to learn and grow.

To move this endeavor forward, the partnership has enlisted the expertise of Deloris Pringle, who with more than 25 years experience in community development and planning, will coordinate the alliance of after-school service providers, foundation partners and the community at large.

Central to these efforts is a conviction that the work of creating opportunities for Lowcountry youths must involve parts of the community that have never been involved before.

We need to broaden our partnership, and find new resources. We also must make better use of the resources already available.

Now, unifying all sectors of the community to erase that need and replace it with opportunity for rural youths offers a brighter future.

We hope others will join us in this promising initiative to nourish and protect our young people. As the study asks, "Are you listening?"

To learn more about the "School's Out Lowcountry" initiative, or to obtain copies of the Lowcountry youth study, contact Deloris Pringle, coordinator, School's Out Lowcountry, at 681-7581 or dpringle@hargray.com

The authors are Dianne K. Garnett, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, and Deva Hirsch, vice president of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.