Walnut Street YMCA is just over a month away from a very important birthday.
The center is getting ready to mark 85 years of rich history in Wilmington, while also honoring the life’s work of a few community leaders. There’s still time to reserve spots or learn a bit more about the YMCA that brought students and families together, even within darker chapters of state history.
Also in Wilmington, a golf event will look to raise money for Delaware’s military youth, while a city-area school district just landed a grant to combat substance use and impacts of the opioid epidemic in schools.
In this weekly roundup, we’ll catch you up on some education updates you may have missed.
(Did we miss another good education story? Let me know: kepowers@gannett.com.)
One Delaware YMCA will mark 85 years, honor 5 leaders with ‘Lifetime Achievement’
The Walnut Street YMCA is gearing up to celebrate its 85th anniversary by honoring the service of others.
The outfit just revealed five Delawareans receiving “YMCA Lifetime Achievement Awards,” on Monday, Sept. 22, in an event also marking the community impact of a “cornerstone” on Wilmington’s East Side since 1940. These awardees will be formally recognized during the YMCA’s 85th Anniversary Celebration from 5:30 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 24, according to a press release from the YMCA.
The Walnut Street YMCA opened in a time of segregation throughout Delaware. Its first opening back September 1940 was highly anticipated, according to the organization. Many hoped the location would mean newfound opportunities and access for Black students and families in Wilmington.
Today, the vision of community and student support continues, with preschool, after-school, summer camp programs for more than 300 local children, and much more.
“For 85 years, the Walnut Street YMCA has been more than just a building — it has been a cornerstone of excellence, a safe haven for generations of youth and families, and a symbol of community progress. This celebration will pay tribute to our past while laying the foundation for an even brighter future,” said Anesha Law, the Walnut Street community executive director, in the press release.
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Tickets to the bigger party next month start at $150, according to the YMCA, looking to fill the Chase Center on the Riverfront.
Soon to be formally honored for their own lifetime achievements are:
Rep. Stephanie T. Bolden, a Democratic in Delaware’s House of Representatives
Claire Carey, a trailblazing chemist and YMCA leader in Delaware
Harmon Carey, founder and station manager of the first African American owned radio station in Delaware
Mayor James Sills, the first African-American mayor of Wilmington among other city and state leadership
Enid Wallace-Haley, advocate with Communities In Schools of Delaware, chair of the Delaware State University Foundation
Delaware gets slice of $24 million to combat opioid crisis – from school
Some 40 districts across the U.S. will share $24 million meant to help schools confront the opioid crisis, as it continues to impact students and families alike.
One such system is Delaware’s Red Clay Consolidated School District.
On Sept. 16, the Public School Districts’ Opioid Recovery Trust announced these grants — totaling 51 at up to $500,000 each — headed to programs across schools “on the front lines.” These systems serve students coping with family members facing addiction, those who have suffered loss, those working through addiction themselves, and much more.
New funding can “help districts expand special education, mental health and recovery supports so students can stay in school and on track.”
The trust received more than 200 applications from school districts across 34 states and American Samoa, organizers said in the press release, and a panel of experts evaluated proposals to select winners this summer.
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Red Clay proposed a program called “The Opioid Effects Mental Health and Optimal Development Consortium,” according to its application summary.
Within it, the district, University of Pennsylvania, CHOP and other partners would help expand data and create a “community of practice (CoP) model to strengthen opioid education, assessment and response methods for students, educators and families.” It would also aim to develop an Opioid Response Toolkit for students, educators and communities.
‘Delaware Valor Classic’ to honor military students through golf
Military kids tend to move some six or nine times in their school lives.
That’s about triple their average peer, according to organizers of the Delaware Valor Classic in a press release, and it can take a toll on their K-12 education. One event is looking to help support children of those in the armed forces — with golf.
At 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 29, the Delaware Valor Classic is set to take over Biedermann Golf Club in Wilmington, with all proceeds heading to Children of Valor. That nonprofit looks to support these students and families in “overcoming learning challenges and excelling academically.”
The event’s largest sponsor levels are already sold out online, but there’s still room to get in on the golf action.
Got a tip? Contact Kelly Powers at kepowers@gannett.com.