Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 5, 1994 TAG: 9401050151
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Director Kaye Hale said the center took in perhaps $8,000 to $9,000 in unexpected contributions.
Despite the small windfall, "we're still really cautious and nervous and under a strain," Hale said.
Before that money came in, the center had been experiencing one of the most severe budget strains in its history. Hale had feared she would have to make major cuts, reducing the center's enrollment from 150 to 100.
For now, the center will reduce the number of youngsters on its rolls to about 125. No members will be turned out; the center will just move slower to replace those who drop out or move away.
The center, at 13th Street and Patterson Avenue Southwest, is a nonprofit after-school program that offers activities, field trips and tutoring to children in a mostly low-income and working-class area of Roanoke.
In the past year, it moved into a new home and rapidly expanded its enrollment. "We have to stunt our expansion for a while," Hale said. "Eventually, we hope to pick it all up."
She said the center has gotten a good response since a Dec. 13 newspaper story about its money crunch.
In addition to the extra donations, a half-dozen people have called to offer themselves as volunteers - including one caller who wants to teach ballroom dancing.
One volunteer who hadn't been active since 1991 mailed a check for $1,000. When the check didn't arrive in the mail promptly, Hale said, he came down to the center and hand-delivered another check for the same amount.
by CNB