‘Lunch and Learn’ program funded

By Paul Fallon
Times West Virginian

FAIRMONT January 15, 2008 11:38 pm

— An employee with the Marion County Family Resource Network will soon be visiting local schools to assist with character education.
Officials with the FRN, which is a United Way of Marion County agency, have recently secured a $22,000 grant that will be used to fund the “Lunch and Learn” program.
The program coordinator will teach youngsters in two county middle schools subjects such as drug and violence prevention as well as character education, said Susan Lee, the FRN’s Middle School Teen Institute coordinator.
“I’m very excited about this program,” Lee said. “And I’m very excited that we got the grant.”
The grant was provided by the Safe and Drug Free Community program. This is the first year the local FRN received the grant. However, the staff did apply for the funds last year as well.
“This is a very difficult grant to get,” she said.
The “Lunch and Learn” coordinator will travel to Mannington Middle School to teach the curriculum during lunch periods. The other school where the program will be held has not yet been chosen, Lee said.
The program was discussed at the FRN’s monthly board meeting, which was held Tuesday, she said. Another topic that was touched on was Marion County’s Promise.
This particular program deals with mentoring, Lee said. High school students participate in a character education seminar. These students then teach middle-school children character education traits at the Middle School Teen Institute, which will be held April 24-27.
“We’ll touch on subjects like substance abuse and bullying,” Lee said. “And we’ll talk about the recent bomb threats and how they are not a game.”
Marion County’s Middle School Teen Institute was modeled after a program in Huntington, she said. Lee added that she believed Marion County and Huntington were the only Middle School Teen Institutes in the state.
“I really think this is a successful program,” Lee said.
“The program in Huntington has been running for a while,” she added. “And they’ve seen major changes in their youth and community because of it.”
The FRN board members also discussed the Child Advocacy Center. This is the second year the CAC has been in existence. The CAC handles child interviews in abuse and neglect cases, Lee said. Last year the center conducted 66 interviews.
The CAC received a $7,500 grant. The money will be used to fund what Lee referred to as “family nights.” The family nights will be utilized to inform members of the community what services the CAC provides.
E-mail Paul Fallon at pfallon@timeswv.com.