Lynn YMCA keeps lights on for kids

LYNN – The lights will definitely be glowing Thursday in the Greater Lynn YMCA gymnasium after the city’s schools have rung their recess bells.As part of the ninth annual Lights On Afterschool event, the local YMCA will be one of more than 10,000 locations nationwide to celebrate the need for after-school programs.The event is organized by the Afterschool Alliance, with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as chairman of the Lights On Afterschool program. Although Schwarzenegger won’t be at the Lynn YMCA, several speakers and dignitaries will help raise awareness that children need a place to go between when school lets out and their arrival home. After all, studies have shown that it’s during those hours children tend to go astray and make unhealthy decisions.According to Tania Buck-Ruffen, the Lynn YMCA’s director of Child Care Services, participants will include Sen. Thomas McGee, a member of Lynn’s legislative delegation, who will read a proclamation from Gov. Deval Patrick, regarding the need for such services. Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. is slated to read a similar statement to show the city’s support for after-school programs.Others scheduled to attend include Rep. Steve Walsh, a Lynn Democrat, and Barbara Seymour, a representative from the Afterschool Alliance in Washington, D.C.”The event will highlight the significant contributions that the Greater Lynn YMCA’s School’s Out program makes to the communities of Lynn, Saugus, and Peabody,” said Buck-Ruffen, noting that the YMCAs in those two communities will simultaneously hold similar public events.Dozens of parents, supporters and local residents are expected to attend the event, which will feature gym games, indoor and outdoor art projects, baking activities, and a DVD compilation entitled “What After School Means to Me.”The DVD will be created on the spot by children, their families, the YMCA staff and its guests. “We have a digital video camera and a new stage built by volunteers from the United Way a couple of weeks ago,” said Buck-Ruffen. “We’ve started the DVD and on Thursday the legislators and others will have a chance to be in front of the camera. Once it’s done, we’ll add music and send it out to the local cable station as well as use it for our own internal and external marketing tool.”The three Greater Lynn YMCA hosting events Thursday from 3:30-5:30 p.m. are: the Lynn YMCA, 20 Neptune Boulevard in Lynn; the Saugus YMCA at 298 Main St. in Saugus; and the Peabody YMCA at 259 Lynnfield St. in Peabody. Lynn has the largest after-school program enrollment of the three sites.”Over 90 percent of the children and families we serve in our childcare programs are people of color, primarily African-American and Latino,” said Buck-Ruffen. “Nearly 100 percent of the families that we serve are from low-to-moderate income levels and qualify for state subsidies, including contracted slots, vouchers, and YMCA ACCESS Scholarships.”Many of the children enrolled in the program for school-age children have special needs, she said.For more information about Lights On Afterschool, go online to www.afterschoolalliance.org.