Community center starts after-school program

Program in Allentown seeks to offer enjoyable activities and thought-provoking discussion.

By: Mark Moffa
   ALLENTOWN — With prayers for success, the Crossroads Youth Center on South Main Street began its ministry-based after-school program.
   The Rev. Gerald DeVan, pastor at the Living Word Community Church in Burlington City, was appointed director of the program in June.
   He said the program will offer enjoyable activities and thought-provoking discussions to the children, "with a little of Christ sprinkled in." The program is not a baby-sitting service, he said.
   "We try to have a partnership with the parents and the children to create an environment that the kids will feel comfortable in," the Rev. DeVan said.
   The program, which started Sept. 6, was originally slated to begin last year. Denise Erb, member of the Allentown Presbyterian Church and president of the Crossroads After-School Program, said the center wasn’t ready to open last year.
   It needed a director and an infrastructure, she said. An ad was placed for a director by the Churches United for Youth, a group comprised of the Allentown Presbyterian Church, the Allentown United Methodist Church, the First Baptist Church of Allentown, St. John the Baptist Church and the Union AME Church.
   In January, Crossroads volunteers began organizing the program. The Rev. DeVan was hired in June as the director.
   He said he visited programs in cities such as Trenton, Camden, New York, and Newark to see how they operate. There are differences between those programs and the service in Allentown, though.
   "They are normally tutoring services," he said. "Ours is going to be more of a broad spectrum. This is a learning experience for them and for us."
   The Rev. DeVan said he and Assistant Director Susan Koller, of Cream Ridge, will begin each after-school session with an open forum in which children will be able to discuss whatever is on their minds.
   "We are going to discuss things with them that get them ready for later in life," he said. The Rev. DeVan said important issues such as peer pressure, rejection, understanding different cultures, and even Megan’s Law will be discussed.
   After open forum, students will be encouraged to do their homework before playing any games or participating in any activities at the center. Arts and crafts, games, and a computer room are available. Computers for the center were donated from Janssen Pharmaceutical Products.
   As of the first day last week, nine students, ages 11 to 14, were registered for the program.
   "We hope as this program goes on we can broaden the ages as we get more successful," said the Rev. DeVan, who was a pastor at the Union AME Church in the borough for three years in the 1980s.
   He said organizers hoped for 20 to 25 students, but they will try to accommodate all interested students.
   The program is partially funded through national Christian organizations, as well as local organizations such as Fleet Bank, the Good Neighbor Fund, the Christian Community Choir, and the Allentown Presbyterian Church.
   Crossroads will run its program Monday through Friday from 2 to 6 p.m. In the future it could be active in the summer, organizers said.
   The Rev. DeVan said help is needed at the center. Two high school students will be paid to help, plus teen-age and adult volunteers are needed. Those wishing to help or attend the program can call 259-0695.
   The cost to attend the center every day is $100 a month. If a student wants to attend a few times a week, the monthly cost drops accordingly. If two siblings want to attend, the monthly cost would be $150 for both of them.
   The Rev. DeVan said "scholarships" are available for those in financial need.