Staff at three borough offices saw a need and got together to do something about it.
Their answer is to provide after-school activities three days a week over the next three months.
“There’s always been the need for after-school care in the community … to fill that gap for parents and children,” said Sarah Scambler, director of the Irene Ingle Public Library.
The activities will be free; no advance registration required. The program is open to children 7 through 13 years old, though younger children are welcome, but they must be accompanied by someone at least 14 years old.
The library, the Nolan Center, and parks and recreation department collaborated this summer to provide scheduled activities for kids so that there was something for them to do most every weekday. “It was really successful,” Scambler said. It worked so well this summer that staff decided to give it a try during the school year.
Wrangell Kids Club will start Monday, Sept. 9, and carry through to Dec. 16. Activities will run from 2:30 to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Depending on the turnout and staffing, the club could continue after school resumes in January from the holiday break, Scambler said.
“With the staffing levels we have right now, it’s doable,” she said. “We’re going to make it work.” If turnout is strong and staff is stretched thin, they may reach out for volunteer help, she said.
Parks and Recreation will handle Mondays, with an open gym, board games and coloring materials at the community center.
The library will provide STEM activities and crafts on Wednesdays, with the Nolan Center showing free movies Friday afternoons.
The STEM activities (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) might include, for example, building things out of inflated balloons, Scambler said.
The free movies will all be G or PG rated, said Jeanie Arnold, Nolan Center director. They will be a mix of animated and other films, with maybe seasonal movies around the holidays, she said. The concession stand will be closed.
However, the organizers know that kids are hungry when they get out of school. “We recognize it, we’re all moms,” Arnold said. To fight those hunger pains, the new Wrangell Kids Club is asking for community donations of snacks — or money for the program to purchase snacks.
People can bring donations to the Nolan Center, the library or Parks and Rec at the community center or call the library at 907-874-3535 to arrange a donation.
While the three sites will provide activities until 5 p.m., kids can come and go as they want during the afternoon, Scambler said, such as leaving early to get home when their parents or older siblings are there.
And staff will make sure kids have time during the afternoons for homework. That suggestion came from Scambler’s 9-year-old daughter. The library director said she always runs her ideas for kids’ activities past her daughter to get an expert’s opinion.
Participants will need to have a signed liability waiver on file with Parks and Rec. If parents have not filled out the form for their kids, they can go to the Parks and Rec tab on the borough website or call the office at 907-874-2444.
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