LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With inflation raising the costs of seemingly everything, parents are working hard to also ensure their kids have the proper care.
Now, the Boys and Girls Club of Kentuckiana is reducing its costs for after school programs for children when classes resume Aug. 10.
"We didn't want this to be a burden or a barrier for our families," Angela Masden, the Parkland Boys & Girls Club director, said.
For the Boys and Girls Club of Kentuckiana, their services are a necessity for many families.
Masden, who is a mother herself, said their work is an extension of what these kids are learning on a daily basis.
"We're just trying to be intentional about providing things for our kids that they might not be able to get into school," she said.
That's why they're cutting the program's cost, making it a third of what it used to be. It now comes out to about $10 a month.
"I'm a walking, living, breathing example of what an investment in young people can give you through our mission," CEO and President Daryle Unseld said.
Unseld also grew up in the Boys and Girls Club and said it takes community support to make their mission a reality.
"We can't do it alone. And that, you know, we need the community to wrap around the young people," he said.
Masden said for her son being an only child, this program has allowed for the socialization she wants him to have.
"He gets to be on the basketball team, he gets to play in the gym, he gets to do things that he may not be able to do at home because he's alone," she said.
The Parkland location in west Louisville provides a safe space for kids to be taken care of after school.
However, they're also ensuring children have access to different resources like homework help, mental health services and more.
"We pride ourselves in being able to provide wraparound resources not only just you know, in sports and recreation, but again, academic success programs," Unseld said.
Unseld and Masden both said it's their goal to help take some of the weight off parents’ shoulders.
"Things are hard. Things are difficult. Things are changing. But our kids need consistency," Madsen said.
Making sure kids in our community have the tools they need to succeed.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Kentuckiana recently revealed plans to open up a new location in the California neighborhood in partnership with the St. Stephen Family Life Center.
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