BE TO HARBOR - Th 1983- learning and ction ; Avoid put downs;
1984 hool year t a ne record for the The option to pass; Expect unfinished
St. Jo ph-Benton H rbor YMCA Out- business: and Spe for yourself.
re ch Program. Once ground rul s were established
Under the direction of Carol Bradham, and reinforced in a' po itive manner,
quatic/y outh Outre ch Director, over behavior changes became apparent in a
10,000 Benton Harbor Elementary short time. "Social skills uch playing
School children participated in YMCA together are things expect all children
in-school and fter-school progr 0lS. to know," say Mrs. Bradham, "And yet
After school, children had the Ope this is a b ic skill our V.I.P.'s had to
portunity to participate in activities learn." Another important element that
uch roller ting, imming, re- developed out of the program w the
ereational gym, Showbiz Pizza tours, group dynamic the boy experienced.
I overnight, Learn-to-Swim pro and According to Mr . Br dham, "They have
special clinics mcluding gymn IC, bo I- ,become support group for each other
ing and cheedeading. and help with policing discipline pro-
In- hool programs included Well· blems amongst them lves."
Program for 2,200 kid caned Due to the cce of the aftet. hool
"Feelin' Good", inuning Ie ns and V 1.P. Program, YMCA Executive Di-
CA Field days.
Se...eral fetor attibuted to so many
program participant. According to
Br dham, "Transportation is a key ele­
ment to our multi- tte programs. Thank
to die cooperative effort between Dial­
a-Ride of Benton Harbor and T .I.
of Berrien Springs, ere b to
transport large numbers of children at
10 cost 'to various program sit in
Berrien County,"
s. Bradham feels that "The
pport on th part of the Benton Harbor
School system, the city of Benton Har­
bor, ocal busin and a large core
of parent olunteers contributed great-
Iy to the 0 raD program "
A n program caDed V 1.P.
deve oped in the spring of 1984. The
concept for th unique program came
from CA Director Carol Bradham
and Benton Harbor School Develop­
ment coordinator Irm
The goal of the V.I.P. program' to
, ulate 8 to 11 year old boy ith
and discipline prob . to an·
alternate po 'ti e experience fo th
purpo of correcting or modifyin m­
ppropriate behavior.
orking ith program 'or Les
EI ell, a Benton Harbor School oclal
or er, el boys ere selected from
orton School for a pilot program.
The V l.P.'s re transported once
eek to the CA after chool to
particip . te in pervised gym and pool
ctiviti . The program format which
includes n c' , group sharing time,
structured gym and pool ctivitie,
de igned to inere per nal self·image
through po . tive learning and recreational
ctivitie in hich till boys could find ,
enjoyment and ucc . Another el ment
of the V J1». program is to provide
po 'tive adult role models.
• Tome, John Hunt and Joe John­
n both from Benton Harbor, volun-
,
teered their time to work group
coon lor. The coun lor had the
of incorporating group ru into group
ctivifes. V 1.P. group rules include:
Accept others; Responsib e for own
A
T
OBE T BRL
co TRACTO
JULY 4 - 10, 1984 THE CITIZE
PAGE �IVE
.0
AC
c
1.
rector Jim Everett felt it ould be
advantageous to continue the program
throughout the summer. Thanks to the
link Crisis Center which was ab to
procur monies from th Berrien County
Revenue Sharing Funds; th V .I.P .s
m et from 8:30-S:00 daily during the
summer.
Everett stated that 'The cooperative
funding of a program b ween two
Blossomlan United Way gencies i
ignificant itself in making an effort to
combine resources and work together
to achieve th sam goals." Beside
financially pporting th program, the
link i also providing assistance from
Steve Gerber to function a part-time
counselor with the V 1.P. program.
The CA currently has plan to
expand the V.I.P. program into other
Benton Harbor EI mentary Schools. A
boy p out of fourth gr de, th plan
. to follow th mint th fifth and ixth
gr de cent r, e t bli hing . n w V.I.P,
group if n . '111 hol concept
of this pr Br dh m,
• i to pr do n
the ro d.
If e can h
even a fe , it
effort,'
influ nee on
ell orth the
EXCESSIVE AMO S 0
Exce ive amount of bran can trip
the body of iron. Bran often unites with
iron. The iron i thu carried through the
b dy without being ab rbed,
II .sou,
lEAFST
TREAT
6gc
STONFS
POR .
SAUSAGE
MOTOR
89�
.'
TO
FRED'
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1527 Territorial Road,
pt Food Stampa aDd WIC Cou
Smice eat Counter
PHO E 925-8495
COlD BEER & WINE TO GO!
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