STANWOOD — People in Stanwood are continuing to work toward building a YMCA for north Snohomish County.
In the meantime, YMCA of Snohomish County started the new year in the Stanwood and Camano Island area with a new after-school program.
Through the Y-Achievers, students at Port Susan Middle School have extra help with homework as well as social opportunities.
“It’s a group I can fit in with,” said Ian Paulson, an eighth-grader at Port Susan Middle School, in a press release from the YMCA. “The people are nice; the staff is great.”
Enrollment in the program has grown and now about 20 students gather after school twice a week. A donated foosball table and games provide recreation in between homework time, service projects and trips to the Marysville YMCA swimming pool and other places such as the Absolute Air Park in Arlington.
In addition to the Y-Achievers program, the YMCA recently put on a College Goal Sunday attended by 73 students and 79 parents who received help navigating the tricky details of federal college funding aid. The school district provided support, staffing and computers.
The YMCA also jointly hosted a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, engaging 30 teens in four hours of service. The students helped the Stanwood Community and Senior Center’s thrift store with inventory.
“Our partnerships are really resulting in some very exciting programs for youth in our community,” said Theresa Metzger, Stanwood-Camano YMCA Initiative Organizing Committee chairwoman.
For more information about YMCA programs in Stanwood, call 360-629-9622 or go to http://www.ymca-snoco.org/?p=1216.
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