West Rehoboth Children & Youth program welcomes 2016 season

The West Rehoboth Children & Youth Program announced that it has begun its 2016 season with more than two dozen children participating in its after-school enrichment and mentoring programs, and it is gearing up for a record number of more than four dozen participants for its 2016 summer activities.

West Rehoboth Children & Youth Program President Brenda Milbourne said, “We are looking forward to a successful 2016 program. We are pleased by the high attendance we’re receiving from West Rehoboth children of a variety of ages from 5 to 15 both during the school year and in the summer months. Our goals are to promote literacy, learning and health, and wholesome recreational activities, and to promote good citizenship. We emphasize the importance of our students giving back with community service in the West Rehoboth community.”

The West Rehoboth Children & Youth Program is located in the West Side New Beginnings Center at 19801 Norwood St. in the West Rehoboth community. It was founded in 2002, funded by contributions from the Lewes Rehoboth Association of Churches and individuals, to provide after-school mentoring. The summer program was added in 2003, and then upgraded in 2005 to increase the emphasis on literacy. The majority of student participants are from the West Rehoboth community. The program helps students with homework, provides tutoring services, and provides instruction and experience with computers.

Milbourne said, “For over a decade, our goal has been to provide the low-income children of West Rehoboth with a better and safer place after school and in the summer, to offer them wider horizons, and to expand their experiences. We are gratified that during this time, a majority of the children in the program have improved their grades, and now over 50 percent of the children are on the honor roll.”

The children’s program also sets up evening meetings and programs with parents. Milbourne said, “It’s critically important to include the parents, both in understanding how their sons and daughters benefit from participation in center programs, but in showing them how important it is to the kids to have strong parental support for all the educational and community programs we provide.”

The center is sponsored by West Side New Beginnings Inc. The Rev. Janet Maull-Martin, president, said, “The Children and Youth Program is doing a great job of motivating children to participate in both educational and community activities. An example is the large number of children who participate in the center’s weekly trash pickups for neighbors, and local programs of beautification. These motivated children are a real asset to the West Rehoboth community.”

The program has received numerous state and county awards. In 2014, Sussex County Councilman George Cole presented the center with a proclamation designating Nov. 20, 2014, as a day “to honor the West Rehoboth Children and Youth Program for their achievements in developing the youth of all shapes, sizes and colors into respectable individuals who are determined to make a change for the better in their community.” Previously, the program was the recipient of a Governor’s Youth Volunteer Service Award to recognize the over 1,000 hours of community service projects conducted by the students. Last spring, Milbourne was awarded the Rehoboth Beach VIA Citizenship Award for her work with the children of West Rehoboth.

Maull-Martin said the center hopes to raise funds in 2016 to upgrade the center’s kitchen facilities. She said, “During both the after-school and summer programs, we provide meals to the students. Renovating the kitchen will allow us to expand the number of dinners and receptions we can accommodate, and increase the number of meal-based programs and services we can offer, not only to the Children & Youth Program, but also to the West Rehoboth community.”

Milbourne said another Children & Youth Program 2016 goal is to complete fundraising efforts to purchase a new van, since its 10-year old van broke down. It had been used to take children home in dark and cold hours, to take summer program participants on educational trips and excursions, and to assist residents of the West Rehoboth community with rides to doctor offices. She said, “We miss the flexibility that the former van gave our programs, but we are hopeful during this coming year to be able to achieve this goal and resume these activities.”

The West Rehoboth Children and Youth Program has served over 150 students since its inception. Some of the children have gone on to graduate from college. Six of the young people were accepted in the acclaimed Minority Engineering Regional Incentive Training program for academically gifted and talented youth. All of the students are enrolled in the West Rehoboth nontraditional 4-H Youth Program.

The youth volunteer each year with the center’s annual Thanksgiving and Christmas feeding program by delivering meals to the homebound, elderly and needy. They pick up trash in the West Rehoboth community, and conduct a variety of other volunteer work at the community center.

Milbourne said, “We are proud to have created a safe and nurturing learning environment for the children of West Rehoboth, and we are looking forward to another successful year as we launch our 2016 programs and services.”