UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 38, Page 6
August 1, 1996
Youth program has positive impact on students

     The National Youth Sports Program is off and running, dancing,
jumping, swimming and playing, with 337 young people from ages 10-16
from New Castle County participating in the program on the campus from
July 8 until Aug. 9, according to Ron Whittington, program
administrator.
     The program is sponsored, in part, by a $47,000 grant from the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
     "Helping and having a positive impact on 300 young people each
summer is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done,"
Whittington said, "and it has been made possible by the cooperation of
several organizations and individuals.
     "One indication of the success of the program is that so many
kids return year after year. We have some who have participated for
the five years the program has been in existence, starting when they
were 10," he said.
     A typical day begins with the kids arriving by bus for breakfast
at Kent Dining Hall. They split up for one-hour sessions of athletic
activities, including football, softball, track and field, swimming
and dance. The participants gather again for lunch, followed by
another activity period. All meals are free to participants and
supplied at low cost to the program by ARA.
     The group also attends programs in Pearson Hall on such topics as
careers, nutrition and health, drug and alcohol information and the
prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
     Edith Moyer, a teacher from Bancroft Middle School in Wilmington,
is the activities director.
     All the participants received special T-shirts from the NCAA as
well as bike helmets from the New Castle County Police.
     Special events this year included a visit to the Russian Ballet
during a dress rehearsal at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, July
16; an Olympic-type field day, July 22; and introductory golf lessons,
sponsored by the LPGA Urban Golfers Program, July 19 and 26. A trip to
Washington, D.C., is planned for Aug. 2.
     Organizing the program is a year-long process, Whittington said.
Information is circulated through schools, community centers and
churches to encourage young people who qualify for the program to sign
up. There are 10 orientation periods for parents, and a staff of eight
teachers and 10 University students is hired for the program.
     All participants must have physicals, which are given free by
Delaware National Guard doctors and nurses affiliated with the A.I. du
Pont Institute and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who
volunteered their services.
     This year, the program also received a $15,000 grant from the
Crozier Foundation, which was established to help disadvantaged youth
and honors the late Roger Crozier, who served as senior executive vice
president of MBNA. This grant was used for the enrichment component of
the program.
     Also supporting the program are the U.S. Department of Health and
Social Services, the cities of Newark and Wilmington, New Castle
County, the state of Delaware and the Department of Public
Instruction.
     In the 1995 program year, 66,593 youths participated in the
program nationally at 171 institutions in 47 states and the District
of Columbia.
                                                   -Sue Swyers Moncure