G.O.D.'s CASE After School Program Promotes Family Time

G.O.D.’s After School Program Manager Craig Duffy Shares how the program encourages family well-being

In attempts to leverage the efficacy of youth development, one should give considerable attention to the youth’s most influential social unit, the family. It is within the family that the child will be molded with values, skills, identity, morals, etc. The future of the child is so heavily steered by the condition of the family that it would be remiss not to consider its well-being. Winston Churchill observed that “There is no doubt, it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of humanity, are created, strengthened and maintained.” A sentiment that has been expressed by Pope John XXIII, “The family is the first essential cell of human society.”

Global Outreach Developments International acknowledges the importance of family, and we have considered ways to support its wellbeing. In order to do this, we chose to focus on alleviating the burdens that families have in respect to raising children.

CASE was able to provide the youth and their families with an opportunity to visit Cheekwood Estate and Gardens through our partnership with NAZA. During their time at Cheekwood, all of the families were gifted a 1-year membership. Pictured here is one of the CASE youth with her parents enjoying their time at Cheekwood.

CASE After School Encourages Family Meals for Youth Participants

Kids who have dinner with their parents do better in school, are less likely to use drugs or alcohol, and are less likely to experience depression or anxiety. Take a look at a few ways CASE is encouraging family meals.

Students’ parents joined us for our annual end of year ShowCASE hosted on the Global Outreach Developments International campus.

1. In efforts to bring families together for meals, CASE helped students create a cookbook and encouraged students to take over dinner time to try their culturally-diverse cuisine. This lets youth showcase their new skills over a dinner with their family.
   

2. Students were also taught how to garden and build their nutritional acumen by taking home foods and seeds for families.
   

3. Food donations were made available for more than 30 families during the pandemic to support meals made at home.
   

4. Finally CASE hosted a showcase night in which families were provided dinner at their own private table.

CASE was able to partner with G.O.D.’s Hopewell Farms to provide in-person programming opportunities in both the Fall and Spring semesters. This time was a highlight for many of the youth who learned how to compost, harvest, cook, ferment food, and more!

CASE Supports Families Working Out Together

Preteens need regular exercise and benefit greatly from easy mindfulness practices like listening to short guided meditations. Students are more likely to do this as a result of it being practiced in the family.

1. Not only are the nutritional components of garden rewarding but so too are the physical. Gardens take work! CASE students learned this as they took home seeds and planted their own family gardens which promoted family exercise in the planting, cultivating, and harvesting of backyard produce. “According to the experts, a few hours hard gardening can work wonders for your health and wellbeing - as well as burn calories fast.”
   

2. For inspiration and the reduction of stress, families were given the opportunity to join their kids in walking the gardens at The Cheekwood Estate and Gardens in Nashville free of charge.
   

3. Finally, students received free passes to attend a local Urban Air Trampoline Park with their families provided by our Mid State Sports Leagues. We are pleased to offer these activities that directly support the well-being of family fitness and health.

CASE Helps Families Cut Household Costs

According to the “Expenditures on Children by Families, 2015” report by the USDA, childcare and education make up the third-highest expense (16%) in the cost of raising children. This is just under housing and food. Our focus on education is within our program’s name and as such we have aimed to provide real assistance and benefit in childcare and education.

CASE After-School program provided free beginner guitar lessons for middle school youth. In this program, youth learned simple chords, how to find the beat and keep rhythm, guitar maintenance (tuning and stringing) and basic songwriting. At the end of the lessons, the youth were gifted a guitar.

1. By delivering supplies to students’ residences we eliminate cost in both educational materials as well as transportation and time to gather them.
   

2. We lent out Lenovo Chromebook units and made Apple iPad’s available at no cost for students in all programs we offered.
   

3. Our program supported families needing technical assistance with their T-Mobile T9 hotspot device which was provided by MNPS.
   

4. In partnering with a local nonprofit, Instruments of Joy, we gifted 5 new acoustic guitars and provided 4 weeks of in-person beginners’ lessons.
   

5. Though the pandemic moved the majority of school and youth programming online, we were still able to safely provide over 40+ hours of free after-school educational childcare on our own campus.

CASE Cares for Families!

CASE continues to grow in its holistic approach to youth development and its ability to attend to the youth’s most influential and primary social unit, the family. By recognizing our position to promote family meal time, giving opportunity for physical fitness, and alleviating educational expenses we are better able to support their wellbeing. In this way we protect and sustain the origins of humanity’s virtue and the first essential cell of human society. We are honored to be included in that grand and worthy work.

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CASE is a program of the Nashville After Zone Alliance. The Nashville After Zone Alliance is a network of coordinated after school programming for Metro’s middle-school students. NAZA is a partnership among the Nashville Public Library, MNPS, and other existing youth-serving groups. It is modeled on successful efforts in other cities and is organized around geographically-defined zones.