YouthQuest’s Monthly Highlights: March 2017

LENDING A HAND

Students at Freeman Elementary worked on multiple service learning projects in March. Younger students braided about 20 tug-of-war ropes for dogs at the Genesee County Humane Society in Flint. They focused on creating tight, secure braids – a practice that also helps build fine motor skills. Older students made several no-sew fleece blankets, which they will donate in April to Hurley Children’s Hospital and a nursing home of their choice.

A SPACE OF THEIR OWN

As part of a partnership between YouthQuest and Flint’s Community Education Initiative, students at Northwestern High School have been hard at work creating the Student Life Center. Over the past several months, students have made several decisions regarding the room’s design, including selecting the carpeting, video game consoles, furniture and color of the walls. Staff and students expect that the room – which will be available to all students in the school – to open in April 2017.

GOING PRO

In preparation for YouthQuest’s annual golf outing in May, PGA Professional Joe Simpson has been visiting with different YouthQuest sites since January. In March, he brought his SNAG (Starting New at Golf) equipment to International Academy of Flint. The SNAG program combines modified equipment and simplified terminology to teach golfing fundamentals in an easy and accessible way. Students at IAF learned golfing basics, such as how to hold a club and hit the ball, among other important skills.

FOLLOW YOUR HEART

Students continued to learn about the history and techniques of different artists, as part of the “Meet the Masters” series. Some sites focused on the work of pop artists Romero Britto, Jim Dine and Peter Max. All three men are known for the different ways that they incorporate hearts into their artwork. Students learned about each artist before trying their techniques out themselves. Some of the resulting pieces will be on display during ArtQuest April 18-20 at Diplomat Pharmacy.

This article was featured in the April 2017 issue of Afterschool Download, a monthly e-newsletter for friends of YouthQuest, TeenQuest and the Summer Youth Initiative. Also in this issue:

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