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| The Landfall Youth Development Initiative, according to FamilyMeans' annual report, offers more than 2,000 hours of programming in the manufactured-home community each year. In 2006, after-school and summer activities involved 198 children and teens in arts, recreation, mentoring, social support, academic support, community service and leadership development.
For more information about Landfall's Investigation Station for ages 5 to 12, contact program coordinator Susan Lundin at 651-730-1046. For more information about all programs offered through FamilyMeans, visit www.familymeans.org or call Arba-Della Beck at the Stillwater office, 651-439-4840.
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Landfall youth program awarded state grant
After-school, summer activities will continue with funding
Katy Zillmer
staff writer
Kids living in the tight-knit community of Landfall, population about 700, are not short of anything to do after school or during the summer.
In the early 1990s, through the non-profit organization FamilyMeans, the Landfall Youth Development Initiative started to offer activities, and a place to be for area children ages 5 to 18.
FamilyMeans did a needs assessment for Landfall, which identified that one of the top concerns was a lack of youth activities, says Tom Yuska, community organizer. Yuska was hired in 1993 to help start the Investigation Station, which is programming specifically for ages 5 to 12.
Landfall's initiative received its first funding at that time from the McKnight Foundation, which awards grants to support children and families, among other causes. That funding was targeted toward organized housing such as an apartment building or manufactured-home parks, Yuska says.
Now, there are about 30 grants that fund the Landfall program, and this year, it received $170,000 in the form of a Minnesota After-School Community Learning award, Yuska says.
The funding will last for two years and help the youth development initiative sustain its current programming and allow it the freedom to research new options.
Landfall was one of 21 after-school programs that received a grant this year, awarded from a total of $5.3 million in funding, by the Minnesota Department of Education. Over 200 applications were received for the grants, according to Yuska. The grants were approved by the 2007 Legislature.
"It's an honor and recognition by the Department of Education that we're doing good work here," Yuska says.
A place to be
Part of the "good work" of the Landfall program is affirmed in the continuing participation from the area youths.
"When kids move into the community, their peers recruit them," says Susan Lundin, program coordinator of the Investigation Station. "It is a drop-in program (and) I think the beauty of the program is kids come because they want to come. Sometimes it's hard to predict, figure out how the day is going to go, but it's exciting too."
During the school year buses will drop kids off at Landfall City Hall, where space is available free for the program, and they can stay until the early evening. "I think a lot of the kids' (families) would have to find alternative day-care programs, which cost money, or in-home care, or (have) unsupervised time after school," Lundin says.
The Investigation Station offers activities for ages 5 to 12 each day of the week, such as arts, music, computers or cooking.
There is also a Teen Center that operates in the evenings for ages 13 to 18. "A lot of it as far as the teen center goes is them having a safe places to go and socialize with their friends," Lundin says.
On a monthly basis, Lundin says, 45 kids will visit the program.
Last week, despite the snowy conditions, youngsters made it to the after-school time and worked on woodworking projects and learned about cooking and nutrition. Kids work in groups and can have one-on-one time with staff and volunteers.
People skills
Even with the drop-in atmosphere, there are regular participants, Lundin says.
In addition to educational activities, staff and volunteers also provide social and development skills and adult interaction, she says. "I think their need is a program that provides diverse options and establishes relationships with caring adults."
And the staff of the youth initiative is also affirmed by the recent grant, Yuska says. "I think that the fact that the kids have a good time and the adults like working here adds to the strength of the program," he says.
Lundin has been the program coordinator for five years, and Yuska has been in Landfall since the beginning of the program.
The grant also helps sustain year-round activities, such as the summer youth bike program in Landfall for ages 6 to 18.
They learn bike repair, earn bikes and get exercise through bike rides to local destinations, according to FamilyMeans' annual report.
Even with the funding each year back at zero help like the Department of Education grant keeps programming options secure.
"It allows me to continue the programming, and we're not put at risk to not continue what we already provide," Lundin says.
Katy Zillmer can be reached at kzillmer@lillienews.com or at 651-748-7822.
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