Tutoring Parents

Parent University, Boys and Girls Club preps parents, help tackle online questions, information

Alexander Cain

Like most parents, Sheri Colver of Milledgeville wants to ensure that the future of her 6-year-old son is a strong and happy one.

And, like many parents, Colver knows that it’s important to change with the times and to be aware of all of the choices and options out there for the next generation of firefighters, doctors, lawyers, barbers, teachers, policemen, astronauts, scientists and practically any other career choice available.

With many colleges and universities choosing to move to an online option for information or forms for potential applicants, people such as Colver need to be aware of what to do and how to do it — and that’s where the Parent University bus came into play Wednesday outside the Boys and Girls Club of Baldwin County.

“I serve on the school council at Blandy, and our council is implementing the bus to the parents at the school. It does well for people who don’t have the funds for a computer or have access to a computer. It [the bus] is convenience,” Colver said.

The Parent University bus, with the help of the Boys and Girls Club of Baldwin & Jones Counties and the financial aid and admissions staff of Georgia College & State University, was parked outside the local Boys and Girls Club for two hours Wednesday afternoon.

Inside, 10 laptop stations allowed parents to learn how to access information online on financial aid, college applications, job and employment tips and other miscellaneous bits of information.

“I had one parent who was here who didn’t even know how to move the mouse, so she received a little more attention than others,” Cathy Crawley, director of financial aid with GCSU, said.

Crawley helped to head up the staff and stations on the Parent University bus, which provided parents with the information.

“It’s for the parents to get educational information about computers and to get information about college financial aid. You can never start too early,” Boys and Girls Club Director Paul Bernard explained. “We want to put into the parents minds about furthering their children’s education after high school.”

Crawley said the idea for bringing the Parent University bus into the community came about after she found a video created by GCSU employee Joe Windish on the popular video site YouTube that detailed Windish’s experiences with the Parent University program and the Parent University bus.

“When I saw it I knew this was something I wanted our office to do. So many of the applications today are electronic. Our goal today is to make them [the parents] more accustomed to hitting those Web sites. This is our community service project for 2009-2010,” Crawley said.

The Boys and Girls Club has always been about community service and assisting local parents and their children with their needs, Bernard said.

But with each program comes a price — sometimes literally — and it’s the community and the parents that visited the Parent University bus Wednesday that help to keep the local Boys and Girls Clubs operational, Bernard said.

“We are going to have a golf classic to benefit our club on Saturday. I think we’ll make at least $3,000 to $4,000 profit, but I’m not sure. It’s never too late to register, and we can fit about 44 teams in, but we only have around 12 to 15 teams at the moment,” Bernard said.

It’s a simple process; more teams registered means more money for the club, which means more money to cover operating costs and more money that can be used to provide for the hundreds of local children who use the Boys and Girls Club each day.

“It all helps with the day-to-day costs. We’re not immune — as things go up, our costs go up, too. Our taxes are also going to go up. All the fundraisers help us to stay ahead of our current situation and help us to meet our demands and needs,” Bernard said.

Meeting financial needs is something the GCSU financial department knows about all too well — and if local parents can be shown how to find financial aid or information that will help their children in years to come, events like Wednesday’s visit by the Parent University bus to the local Boys and Girls Club will all have been worth it, according to Crawley.

“I think this is a great success today. Every parent I had spoken with before this who said they would be here has shown up,” volunteer Diane Lucette, who works with Baldwin High School and the Parent University HOPE (Helping Our Parents Educate) program, said. “It’s a way of showing that we’re coming into the community to share information with parents on subjects that they need to know to help further the educational future for their children.”

Plans are in the works to have the Parent University bus also visit the Jones County headquarters of the Boys and Girls Club of Baldwin & Jones Counties, as well as make stops at local churches.

By day’s end, more than 40 parents had taken advantage of the information provided through the bus and through a parents’ meeting, which was also held at the club.

“We plan to be wherever we are needed this year,” Crawley said.

For information on how you can help keep the local Boys and Girls Club running by participating in Saturday’s golf tournament, call Kyle Wall at (478) 445-0796 or Paul Bernard at (478) 456-5602.

All other Boys and Girls Club information, including how you can help sponsor a child for $500, may be found by calling Paul Bernard at (478) 456-5602.

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