Amy Belcher

Kristin Johnstad, Senior Consultant; Bill Mesaros, Ph.D., Director, Field Research; Search Institute, Minneapolis, MN; Jim Conway, Search Institute Trainer, Madison, WI; Kareem Moody, Program Director; Cathy Collins, Former Executive Director, PARK (Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids), Little Rock, AR; Yolanda Allen, Youth and Family Director, YMCA of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, NV; Amy Belcher, Director, Neighborhood Center, Center for Children and Families, Norman, OK

Linda A. Terrell, Executive Director, and Amy Belcher, Director of Neighborhood Centers Program, Center for Children and Families, Inc., Norman.

Neighborhood Centers Director Amy Belcher said the centers are designed to be a safe place for members of the neighborhood to come and do constructive things with their time.

We do them during the school year and it made sense to do them during the summer , but we didn't have the funds available , Belcher said.

The Norman Rotary Club approached the center staff and together they came up with the summer program.

The program met in July from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Wilson Elementary gym.

Today is the last day of the summer program , but the youth put a month of hard work on display Wednesday at a talent show that was completely put together by the youth who were involved , Belcher said.

They practiced everything on their own time , Belcher said.They took a lot of pride in what they did..

Several parents came to the talent show to watch their children perform.

They saw four groups of happy kids performing everything from a dance medley and a cheer to a kid version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and a lip sync.

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When they weren't working on their talent show , participants spent the rest of the month taking field trips , going swimming , making arts and crafts and doing team-building activities , Belcher said.

The youth toured the Sam Noble Oklahoma Natural History Museum , the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and the Barry Switzer Center -- all for free.

Westwood Swim Complex gave the group a discounted rate to go swimming , and the Norman Public Schools provided $900 for field trips through the community education program.

Integrative Media and the Center for Children and Families also helped make the summer program possible , Belcher said.

The American Red Cross came to the centers and did some community education , as well.

Besides fun and tours , the group also did community service at the University of Oklahoma as a part of the program.

The summer program was about helping these youth with their self esteem , Belcher said.The kids knew they could play because adults would be taking care of them.It was a safe place with food and it helped teach them socialization skills.

They knew that someone who cares about them would ask every day how they were doing..

Belcher said the summer program had four new staff members and a host of teen-age volunteers who at one time had come to the Neighborhood Centers program as participants.