BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The Broome County government has announced $190,000 in grant funding for youth programs in the community.
Broome County Executive Jason Garnar made the announcement on Thursday, along with Liz Woidt, director of parks, recreation and youth services, and the Broome County Youth Bureau.
The grant recipients were approved by the Broome County Legislature in its March session.
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“The Broome County Youth Bureau is excited to receive these funds from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services for 2021. Continuing to support our youth is now more important than ever with the impact we have seen from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Woidt said in a release. “The programs awarded provide exceptional services, support and opportunities to empower youth of all ages in our community.”
The Broome County Youth Bureau awarded $190,000 to the follow 11 grant recipients:
- Summer Playground — City of Binghamton Parks: The program provides a structured recreation program for children Pre-K-4th grade. The daily activity includes sports, games, arts & crafts, swimming, activities, and lunch.
- Summer Zone —Binghamton University: designed to involve youth to address engagement and summer-learning loss. This program addresses the unstructured time of at-risk youth during out of school summer months while encouraging student engagement with the school to prepare for the upcoming academic year.
- Finch Hollow Nature Center — Cornell Cooperative Extension: offers programing and opportunities for youth to develop skills, practical knowledge, and wisdom through observing, doing, and reflecting on experiences throughout Broome County. Programs include 4-H Spark Club, school programming, and low-cost public programming.
- Gateway/Connection Center — Catholic Charities of Broome County: School and community-based counseling and case management canter that provides comprehensive emotional health services for youth ages 8-21 years and their families.
- Wilderness Adventure Program (WAP) — Children’s Home: an ongoing, year-round program. WAP provides at-risk youth populations with healthy, safe after-school alternatives. It provides families who live in poverty with access to affordable, nature-based activities that support their overall health and wellbeing, Broome County contends. WAP offers outdoor, hands-on learning opportunities, in-service training, team building activities, and youth-leadership opportunities.
- Studio Youth Program — Fenton Free Library: provides a safe environment for youth ages 10-14. The program offers classes to help youth express themselves and provide services to give them an outlet that encourages communication and acceptance.
- Safe Harbour — Crime Victims Assistance Center: Offers direct support for youth with a history of trauma. The program provides comprehensive case management, counseling, personal care items and clothing, financial support, legal and medical advocacy and community respite. The program also offers peer support and education groups
- Pathways Program –—Johnson City Central School District: The Pathways Program is a unique high-school program that provides students of potential with a successful high-school experience that will lead the way to college or a career in a small, personalized environment, Broome County stipulates.
- Library Program, Playground Program and Waterman Conservation Education Center — Town of Vestal: provides four free supervised sites for six weeks in the summer including activities, games, special events, crafts, sports and reading. The library van visits parks on a rotating basis and provides organized read aloud. Waterman Conservation offers four programs during the year for ages 5-12.
- Grow Binghamton — VINES: Offers a six-week program that revolves around youth empowerment, civic engagement, and hands on learning about environmental systems with the Binghamton Urban Farm being a living lab for learning. Youth participate in every aspect of food production from seed starting to distributing produce to Binghamton residents in need of access to fresh and affordable food.
- Teen Transitional Living Program — Catholic Charities of Broome County: Provides a safe, structured, supportive housing program for runaway and homeless youth, according to Broome County.