I want to thank everyone who sent in a response to my last newsletter.
Balancing the needs of law enforcement against protecting personal privacy is a complex subject, and I was glad to hear all of the different perspectives. In the future I will devote an entire newsletter to the topic, including excerpts from some of the response emails that we received.
As many of you know I am a Co-Chair on the Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee, which means that I have an extremely active role in crafting that portion of the budget. In our most recent budget, I worked to eliminate fraudulent and wasteful programs. We cut almost $200 million out of the Health and Human Services budget alone last year.
I will continue to work to eliminate wasteful programs in all areas of our State Government. But there are many government programs that are not wasteful, and that fulfill an important role in our community. In this week’s addition of the newsletter, I will be discussing three examples of programs that truly provide a significant service for our state: Smart Start Programs, the Boys and Girls Club and Citizen Schools.
SMART START DUCKY DERBY
.jpg)
.jpg)
(photos courtesy of Angela Feingold)
I recently had the pleasure of attending the Franklin-Granville-Vance Smart Start Family Fun day and Ducky Derby in Henderson. The event was primarily a fundraiser for the Smart Start Program, but it also provided a wonderful community event that was quite a bit of fun. You can see from the pictures above that there was fun had by all. More pictures can be viewed here.
Carolyn Paylor, the Executive Director of FGV Smart Start, had this to say: “One of FGV Smart Start’s goals is to work with other agencies, individuals, and businesses to provide total community collaboration as we serve families with young children. Our Family Fun Day and first Ducky Derby fundraiser was a great example of that teamwork to create a fun event that was enjoyed by the whole community.”
Smart Start offers a variety of services to assist in the early education of our children, preparing them for entry into Kindergarten and the foundation for success throughout their academic career. The programs focus on ensuring they have the required skill sets to succeed in school. Research has shown that children who participate in Smart Start are less likely to have behavioral problems and have better language skills when entering Kindergarten than children who have not participated in the program.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Supporting Smart Start Programs in our communities is a vital part of our commitment to education, and that’s why in our most recent budget the General Assembly appropriated $188 million in funding. Above are pictures of citizens from District #7 who came to the General Assembly to secure that Smart Start funding.
It is an absolute responsibility of this State’s government to ensure that our children have every opportunity to succeed. Smart Start is just one of the programs that fulfill this responsibility. I will continue to support funding this important and worthwhile program in the budget years to come.
BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB
In the most recent session of the General Assembly, I was a co-sponsor of legislation that resulted in $900,000 in additional funding for the Boys and Girls Clubs of North Carolina from federal block grants. You can read the legislation here. We appropriated an additional $4.1 million over the course of our two year budget to the Boys and Girls Clubs of our State..
The Boys and Girls Clubs, like Smart Start, provide an essential assistance for our youth. Many Boys and Girls Clubs have been operating in our State for decades, helping countless young boys and girls become better students and productive members of society. The Boys and Girls Clubs provide a community location that affords our youth a place to come and participate in positive and productive outlets.
The Boys and Girls Clubs not only teach important lessons, but they also keep our children off the streets and out of situations with negative influences. The Boys and Girls Clubs are an extension of our State’s efforts to support the education and positive development of our young people, and I hope to continue their funding in the upcoming budget year.
CITIZEN SCHOOLS
Another program funded for the benefit of our children is Citizen Schools. They partner with middle schools to offer innovative programs aimed at helping schools and students succeed. Citizen Schools develops the academic and leadership skills students need to succeed in high school, college, the workplace, and civic life. They are at the forefront of a movement to educate children, strengthen communities, and increase access to opportunities. You can read more about Citizen Schools in general here.
The organization’s North Carolina branch just launched its third year of operations at Henderson Middle School. Since 2008, the Citizen Schools program has served more than 200 Henderson students and engaged more than 50 volunteers from the surrounding community. This semester at Henderson Middle, students work with volunteers from the legal, medical and journalism community to learn and practice real-world skills.
By extending the school day and devoting more time to learning and instruction, while at the same time exposing students to caring adults from their community, Citizen Schools is helping students focus on a future-oriented approach to setting goals for middle school and beyond. Last year, for example, 75% of students in the Citizen Schools program showed improvements on math grades over the course of the year due to targeted homework assistance. More than 80% of students showed marked gains on oral communication and leadership skills.
If you would like more information about the Citizen Schools program or how you can get involved, please contact Angelo Cross, Campus Director at Henderson Middle School, (252) 492-0054 or angelocross@citizenschools.org.
As always, I look forward to your thoughts and comments on the issues discussed in the newsletter. Please feel free to respond to any issue, whether it was covered in the newsletter or not. It is an honor to serve as your State Senator, and I will do everything in my power to live up to that honor.
Sincerely,
Doug Berger