The students are well worth the effort

Frontiersman Editorial Board

Once again, a lack of funding has inspired a group of Valley people to take action -- and once again it's for a worthy cause. Last summer, a group of people in the Big Lake area wouldn't take "closed" for an answer, and they banded together to keep their park open. While it may not be the best permanent solution to the challenges facing state parks, it certainly was a strong testament to the determination and character of the people in Big Lake. This time it's the faculty at Goose Bay Elementary School, the families of students there and the Boys and Girls Club.

The Boys and Girls Club, with its main Valley building on Bogard Road, has operated before- and after-school programs at several local schools -- including Goose Bay. The club had hoped to receive a 21st Century Grant worth $200,000. Those funds would have made it possible to continue the programs already operating and to also expand to a few other local schools. The grant did not materialize, and Boys and Girls Club will be forced to close down all the in-school programs at the end of the school year.

The people of Goose Bay Elementary don't want to see that happen in their school, though, so they've initiated a fund-raising effort with the intention to raise enough money -- $10,000 to $20,000 -- to keep the program operating in their school next year. It's an ambitious effort, because they'll need to raise the money by the end of the school year, but they are determined to do it.

The school-based operations run by Boys and Girls Club are not simply daycare programs. The program at Goose Bay has created something of a partnership between Boys and Girls Club staff and the school's faculty. There's a program that helps ensure students get their homework done and many of the other programs are designed to help augment the students' education.

The school and the parents have decided the relationship between the club and their students is too valuable to simply let it fade out. In a community with a noticeable shortage of wholesome after-school activities available to children, it seems the loss of any such program is a serious blow. We salute the families and faculty of Goose Bay Elementary School and also the staff at Boys and Girls Club for the effort they're making to save this important program. We hope they succeed in that effort, and we hope that success will encourage others to take on the challenge of providing our children with safe, productive activities in our community.