Why the Ferndale Blues Festival supports our Youth Assistance Programs

 It was a warm sunny morning as I drove over to the Kulick Community Center parking lot one Saturday to help send off a group of youth to summer camp.  These were disadvantaged kids from lower income households who would normally never get to go to camp because of financial constraints.  But as I pulled into the lot I was surprised at the crowds.    That summer in 2012 Ferndale Youth Assistance not only sent the most kids it had ever financed for camp before, but

we were sending the most of any school district in Oakland County !

The boys and girls seemed to be middle school age, though Im not an expert at guessing ages.  They all had family that had come to say goodbye and help them carry packs and other items for their trip.  They were boys and girls, of diverse races, but they all had excitement on their faces.  Two or three busses were warming up and it made me feel good.  I had always gone to scouting camps for many years as a tween and into my teen years, and they were important and fun and educational. 

 

The camp program run by FYA is just one of the ways that we support our local youth.  And it is one reason I have stayed on their board for fifteen years.

 

I don’t and won’t have any kids of my own but as a part of our “village” of Ferndale, it is to me a duty to give back to our youth, who will inherit this town when my generation moves on.