JONES CENTER FOR FAMILIES INC

Program: YOUth Center

Program Description:

The Jones Center YOUth Center is open every day after school, and provides tween/teen (ages 9 to 17) programming every Friday and Saturday night, offering engaging, safe and supervised recreation at no charge to teenagers. Activities include karaoke, pizza & movie night, game night, and coffee bar night, as well as swimming and skating.   In 2011, there were 23,000 visits to the YOUth Center.

The Center was recognized in 2010 as the “2010 PTA Business of the Year” by the Springdale City Council PTA because of our tremendous outreach efforts and youth programs, including the ability to host sizeable school functions such as the regional high school ‘Academic Competition in Education’ championships, regional History Day competition and the DECA competitions. Local high schools hold their graduation night parties here to encourage safe and controlled festivities.  

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Program: Summer Youth Academy

Program Description:

In 2008, Springdale was identified as the highest need community in Arkansas for quality out of school offerings based on the final report of the Arkansas Governor’s Task Force on Best Practices for After-School and Summer Programs.  Thus in 2009, the Center initiated its Summer Youth Academy (SYA) program, an eight-week educational and recreational program for children ages 9-12 held in June and July.  The camp featured themed weeks with a structured curriculum including: Art, Drama & Stage, Cooking for Kids, The Great Outdoors, Sports & Fitness and Science.

 

Nearly 500 children were enrolled during the inaugural year in 2009, an estimated 60% of whom were considered low income with some special needs children.   A carefully chosen staff of certified public and private school teachers and elementary education major college students were hired to inspire and mentor the students. Through support from corporate sponsors, the Center was able to keep the SYA affordable for families with a fee of $45 per week per camper.  More than 300 children attended on scholarship. Based on user surveys from last year, the 2010 SYA was restructured, based on an analysis of a needs assessment, to further improve the Center’s ability to meet the community’s needs. In 2012, we anticipate serving almost 900 6-11 year-olds at SYA,  at the very reasonable $60 per week fee, and offer early-morning drop-off care. Most of the children attend the camp on full or partial scholarship, and many would be home alone if not for the program. 

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Program: Health & Wellness

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Health Education classes and fitness activities are made available to diverse groups within the community and many are offered in English and Spanish. The Jones Center is partnering with The American Red Cross and other providers in the community.  Instruction and presentations focus on self-care and wellness, exercise and water aerobics, nutrition, CPR, lifeguard certification, blood pressure and heart disease. Participants range in age from middle school children to senior adults.    

Another health & wellness program at The Jones Center takes plcae every fall at the Arkansas Health Dept. Mass Immunization Clinic where thousands of flu shots are are given in one day at the site. The Center is considered the only location in Washington County able to both attract Caucasian, Latino and Marshallese populations and accommodate the crowds of people seeking the vaccinations. 

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Program: Community Development Education

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Basic community development classes take place at The Center including English as a Second Language,  GED courses (in Spanish), Anger Management, etc.   Participants of these programs are more likely to successfully find work in the region and succeed than those who haven’t. Through the Northwest Arkansas Community College, Plaza Comunitaria also takes place here to provide primary and secondary education for Spanish speakers with the materials provided by the Mexican Consulate. These Latinos, once they have mastered literacy in Spanish, have a much better chance of learning to read and write in English and successfully integrating into the community. The Jones Center also offers basic computer courses in its Computer Center. 

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Program: Senior Life Programming

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