Registration for before and after school childcare, Y-CARE, at the Portage Township YMCA is now open 
As children and teens return to school, the Portage Township YMCA encourages parents looking for safe, secure childcare, to take advantage of the Y’s before and after school program, Y-CARE. Combining play with academics and service learning projects, the Portage Township YMCA Y-Care program is a safe, secure and affordable.
According to the Afterschool Alliance, 15.1 million children in the United States are left unsupervised after 3 p.m. In Indiana, 30% (332,642) of K-12 youth are responsible for taking care of themselves after school.
“At the Portage Y, we are committed to nurturing the potential of every child and teen,” said Amanda Glasser, School Age Child Care Coordinator at the Portage YMCA. “Our Y-CARE program is not just about an extended day of work and activities – it’s about giving youth an extra support system that encourages them to achieve success.”
Glasser says that attending Y-CARE can have many lasting positive effects on youth, including helping children and teens develop interpersonal and social skills, perform well academically, and develop habits that lead to positive behaviors, better health and educational achievement.
The Y offers before and after school care (Y-Care) for children in grades 1 thru 8 enrolled in one of the six Portage Township Elementary Schools that are located in Portage, Nativity and Portage Christian. The program provides guided, structured and educational activities in a safe and secure, fun environment with low child to staff ratio. Children can be dropped off before school as early as 6:30 a.m. and picked up after school as late as 6:00 p.m. Y-Care is held at Aylesworth (serving Aylesworth, Willowcreek and Central), Jones (serving Jones, Crisman and Kyle) and Myers (serving Myers, Nativity, Fegely and Portage Christian). Y-Care can be used with K-Care to meet the needs of Kindergartners. K-Care is designed to care for Kindergarten students during the school day hours they are not in class and it is held at the Portage Township YMCA. Program fees vary according to hours of usage. A new option is hourly care for those who do not need this service every day.
As one of the leading providers of school age child care, the nation’s Ys have been engaging children in these types of programs for more than 50 years. Today, Ys impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of youth in afterschool programs at nearly 10,000 sites across the country. Afterschool programming at the Y focuses on the holistic development of youth, promoting creativity, a love for learning, academic success and friendship and character building. Financial assistance is available to those in need, to ensure every child and teen has the opportunity to learn and grow at the Y.
For more information regarding this program please contact Amanda Glasser, School Age Child Care Coordinator at 219-762-YMCA(9622) or at amanda@ymcaofportage.org. Additional Portage Township YMCA information is available at- www.ymcaofportage.org.