Safe and Smart: Making After-School Hours Work for Kids - June 1998

A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Communities Meeting the Need for
After-School Activities


YMCA of Middle Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Contact: Lisa Beck 615-259-3418, ext. 100

The YMCA of Middle Tennessee is the largest provider of school-age care in the state of Tennessee, providing activities and care for 5,660 children after school at 117 school sites in middle Tennessee. For 14 years the YMCA has provided year-round services, including full-day care during the summer, on school holidays, and snow days. The YMCA works closely with principals, teachers, and school officials to create a program that enhances the child's school experience while developing the child in all areas--physical, social, emotional, and intellectual. The program, Fun Company, incorporates outdoor play, homework time, community service activities, character development, dramatic play, games, artwork, life skills development, and science activities. Nashville hosts a number of school-based "discovery learning centers" that reinforce academics in fun ways, strengthening math, reading, language arts, and study skills.

In collaboration with the schools, the YMCA provides care both in schools and at local YMCAs. The YMCA provides more than $1.1 million in financial assistance for those families unable to afford care; 26 percent of all families served by the YMCA receive financial assistance. Each of the 405 staff members receives extensive training through the YMCA of the USA national training program, developed in cooperation with Wellesley College.
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