Beginning in January, Baldwin County will be welcoming a new organization that seeks to enlarge our growing opportunities for creative experiences for youth, ages 12 to 18. Called Creative Campus Club Milledgeville, the group will focus on the performing arts, both in and outside the classroom.
The emergence of Campus Club comes at a time when Baldwin High School (BHS) is nearing completion of its state-of-the-art fine arts center. Given the stellar reputation of both BHS and Oak Hill Middle School in creative expression, Campus Club should provide additional strength, visibility and outreach for such activities.
Campus Club organizers Gregory and Toyia Barnes are forming the group as an affiliate of the Macon-based Campus Club Inc. Provision for outreach is an important feature of the program. There will be partnerships with such organizations as the Pittsburgh Industrial Teacher Service Company (PITSCO) and the Berklee City Music Network. Technological resources will be used to connect area students with partnership groups.
Research shows that creative activities such as music, drama and the graphic arts can stimulate students toward greater overall academic achievement. What’s more, they typically have fun in the process. When the fine arts are being minimized in formal school curricula, it is vital to provide opportunities for creativity whenever and wherever they are available.
Free of charge, Campus Club will offer programs intended to further motivate our community’s growing interest in creative expression. Supporting its goals and activities will be crucial to its development. If you are interested in learning more about this new organization, contact Campus Club at (478) 387-02w00 or visit its Web site at www.campusclubsus.org/Milledgeville.
Both the process and products of Campus Club should be a rewarding venture for us all, and especially our community’s youth. By supporting it, we would be collaborating in enhancing our children’s inventiveness and imaginations. We would be allowing them to experiment, take creative risks and grow in socially supportive ways.
