A nonprofit organization has stepped up to create an after-school program in the wake of the closure of Jaffrey’s extended day program.
Monadnock Bible Conference, located at 257 Dublin Road in Jaffrey, will begin offering its after-school program on Oct. 3 to students in grades K-8. The program, called Launch Point, will offer arts and crafts, homework help, and outdoor activities.
“It’s about the families and the kids – that’s our heartbeat,” said MBC Camp Director Roy Baldwin. “It’s all about meeting the needs of the community. We want to provide a safe place for kids.”
The program will run Monday through Friday from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and will cost $5 a day or $25 a week per student. Baldwin said program costs will be capped at $50 for a family with more than two children in the program.
“We are delighted that Monadnock Bible Conference is stepping up,” said Jaffrey Grade School Principal Susan Shaw-Sarles, who noted that MBC’s offering is not a school district program. “This is a community initiative we welcome. It looks like a great program.”
Launch Point was born out of the growing community need for an after-school program in town after many parents felt they didn’t have a safe and affordable place to bring their children after school. MBC first came to the table about a month ago, during a community meeting at the Jaffrey Chamber of Commerce.
Baldwin said a few things are still being worked out to finalize the program, including finding more volunteers help out and fleshing out the homework help portion of the program.
“We want it to be more than 30 minutes for homework,” said Baldwin. “We want to be an add-on to what the school district is doing.”
To assist with the day-to-day operations of the after-school program, MBC has hired Anna Buller to serve as the coordinator of the program.
As an organization that runs a number of camp-related activities, Baldwin said MBC is no stranger to running programs similar in nature to Launch Point. One major change for the organization, however, is removing the religious element for the after-school program.
“Most of our programming is faith-based, but for the after-school program, we are going to take a more values-based approach,” said Baldwin. “We don’t want our faith to be a stumbling block for families who are in need of such a program.”
With a bus route currently running by MBC, students will be able to take the bus from school to the after-school program.
An open house will be held for the program on Sept. 26 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. To get more information about the program, or to apply for the program or to be a volunteer, call 532-8321.