My Big Idea!

     I had a big idea.  My town is moderately close to an urban area, but is distinctly rural, and nearly 1/5^th of the population here lives under the poverty line. (2012 US Census)  Our children are mostly stuck at home because there really is not anything to do.  In order to get to social events, they need to go an average of twelve miles, one way, to the city.  I believe that if our town had a recreation center for them, they could get out, and get moving more.  I would love to have a place for them to go to get off the video games, and computers to learn things that relate more closely to everyday life when they are grown.  A place for them to do activities that they, and the rest of the community, find fun, and appropriate. 

Harvest Festival at the elementary school

     A quick, unofficial survey of my kids, their friends, and their friends’ friends, tells me that the boys, and even some of the girls, would like to build a parkour (free running) course.  Leggo league, and a robotics club have also been bandied about.  I was hoping for a cooking course, a garden, and things like teaching them how to manage savings, write resumes, and even clean.  No one can say it is not important for kids to learn responsibility, and learning to take care of themselves is the first step.

 

     In order to get this project started, I would need to attend a town meeting and bring it up there.  First though, I would like to find parents to come to our own meeting, to go over what they would like to happen.  It would not make much sense to ask the town to consider it, if no one was going to use it.  I have a small circle of parents that I know, and they are all for it, but I think most of the parents, if not all, should have input on the project.  It’s important that we get as much information as we can as to what the parents want to see their kids doing, and what the kids want to do, and then what we, as a community, can afford.

     Having a center in our own town would mean that no one would have more than an average of 6 miles to drive, with the option to return home while the kids are at play, rather than trying to find something to do downtown .(Google)  It is safer to drive slower, on our roads rather than the main highways, reducing the chances of getting into an accident due to wildlife.  What I hope for is that we can get a lot of donations, and grants to help us.  I want this place to be as close to free as we can get it.  Maybe we could even run it on a sliding scale basis.  How great would that be?

http://www.census.gov/censusexplorer/censusexplorer.html
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