Helping keep kids safe from violence and away from drugs is the main emphasis of the Ripple afterschool program at Belington Middle School.
Funded by the Governor's Safe and Drug Free Communities Grant, the Ripple program has been working with Barbour County students for the past eight years. Students meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the school. Heart and Hand House Inc. of Philippi serves as the financial agent for the Ripple program.
Project Director Jackie Simmons said the Ripple program has seen tremendous improvement in meeting its goals and objectives over the years. According to Simmons, Ripple has grown to become a model program in the community that other organizations recognize and applaud for the substance abuse prevention and violence reduction education it provides to Barbour County students.
"I feel Ripple is a great program for the children of Barbour County," Simmons said. "In the past two years, Ripple has expanded to accept students from Phillip Barbour High School and Belington Elementary School. Our older students model good behaviors to our younger students allowing our program to have a true family feel to it. Our program educates participants in violence and drug prevention while promoting positive peer social bonding in a safe atmosphere. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to work with children in my community; to educate them about the very real dangers which drug abuse and violence can bring to them. We provide fun social interactions such as gaming, sports, art and community service projects as alternatives to negative behaviors. After-school programs such as Ripple are an excellent step in keeping kids safe, occupied and away from risky behaviors."
According to Simmons, one of the major benefits the program has acquired is use of the Belington Middle School building, which has become an integral asset to the program's services. It allows the students to spend more time at the program, while spending less time traveling to and from a site.
Throughout the course of this year's program, Simmons said 21 students have been enrolled and participated in structured class sessions.
Heart and Hand House Inc. Executive Director the Rev. Dr. Robert C. Wilkins said the program has been a wonderful asset to the organization. He said it helps meet the need of children in the community by providing a positive social environment.
"As a community based organization, Heart and Hand often links together with existing programs to lend support or seeks out new partners to meet an identified need somewhere in Barbour County," Wilkins said. "Over the years Heart and Hand has had a youth emphasis. During the '70s and '80s we had summer camp experiences both in and out of county. Interest waned, but kids still needed activities.
"The after-school program was a perfect answer," he said. "The Ripple program is a perfect example. A viable youth program with a supportive sponsor. It is an opportunity for middle school kids to be mentored by caring adults several days a week throughout a whole school year. It is more focused than a few days at camp and provides a vast array of developmental skills. The Ripple program is one of the best investments that Heart and Hand has made over the years: It nurtures and supports our middle school children."
Wilkins said another key structure the Ripple program has is access to is the Heart and Hand Christian Community Center in Junior, which has been used to implement a monthly Family Fun Night and a summer program component. He said it is also used for fundraisers, advisory board meetings, or whatever need that may arise.
Over the years, the Ripple program has received various mini grants from the Barbour County Community Foundation and other organizations to purchase materials to institute the Family Fun Nights, which continues to be very popular with students and their parents. The Inter-Mountain Newspaper has donated 12 I-Mac computers to the RIPPLE program to set up a computer lab at the Center.
The program has also received contributions from the Barbour County Commission and Freedom Bank, along with private donors.
For more information, call 304-457-1295.
