Which One of Your Children Do You Love the Most?

            Yesterday I was interviewed about the Good Neighbors programs. There were questions about how we got started, who was involved, how the various components of the program were determined and developed, and our next challenges. At the end of the interview I was asked – What part of the Good Neighbors program are you most proud of? As people close to me know, I am immensely proud of the internship program. One of our stated objectives from the beginning discussions in 2006 was to provide a vocational exploration experience for college interns. We sensed that working with young children in this environment could be a life-changing event for the college interns.

            I had been working on several items related to the interns when I got the call to talk about the Good Neighbors history. Since the interns were on my mind, my reply to the question was – I think that if I could only pick one thing, it would be the internship program.

            Shortly after the interview was completed I began to reflect on my answer and realized I couldn’t leave that as my complete answer. So I called back and said – I’ve been thinking about your question and need to say more. I can’t pick a single piece of the program and say… that’s the part I’m most proud of. That’s like asking me which one of my children I love most! After thinking about it, I have to include the Peace Education Enrichments we have built in to the curriculum. This came as no surprise to my questioner since she knows how committed I am to teaching and modeling living peaceably in our world to the children.

            But that still doesn’t say enough. There are many parts of the Good Neighbors Enrichment program that need to be talked about – bragged about, and celebrated! And here are just a few:

·         The Reading Buddy program – almost 90% of the Good Neighbors kids either retain or improve their reading levels over the summer. Less than 50% of the children (nationally) who have no summer enrichments retain their reading levels over the summer.

·         Writer’s Workshop 

·         Nature Education

·         Peace Education

·         Cultural Diversity/Global Education enrichments

·         The Theatre program with our Roanoke Children’s Theatre partner

·         Healthy living activities – eating well & living an active life

·         Arts and crafts programs

·         The internship program

·         Growth from 65 kids in 2008 to 160 in 2011

·         Committed partnerships with churches, schools and community organizations

·         Active participation by nearly 200 volunteers

The list could go on and on. And this is just about our Summer Day Camp program. Did you know? We also provide sack lunches and weekend backpacks for children attending summer school at three schools in Bedford County and three in Franklin County. And, we have a small in-school mentoring program at Moneta Elementary School and Dudley Elementary School.

So – asking me which part of the Good Neighbors program I am most proud of cannot be answered with a simple answer. It is like asking me which one of my children I love most - you better sit down; this may take a while!