Above: Spending time at the Grand Marais Municipal Pool is just one of the many activities offered at “Out Of School Adventures.” Left: Youth Programs Coordinator Melissa Wickwire oversees the fun.
Melissa Wickwire has gotten pretty good at juggling since she was hired as youth programs coordinator in December 2011. She oversees the activities of dozens of kids each week, helps with events like the Community Center Halloween Carnival and KidsPlus Easter Egg Hunt and works with middle school students on leadership skills. “It’s a lot to juggle,” admitted Wickwire in a recent interview, “but I’m really liking it. There is such a wide range of activities and so many possibilities.”
And challenging. Although her office is on school grounds, School District 166 does not fund youth programming. The 20-hour-a-week position is funded by three different organizations— Community Education, Cook County Extension and Cook County KidsPlus. It takes a bit of juggling to keep track of what task is being completed for which entity. However, Wickwire said, “These are all groups that are interested in kids. That’s exciting.”
All of the boards bring different resources and different kinds of support for youth programming, which has seen some changes in the last year. The “After School Lounge” has become “Out of School Adventures.” Wickwire explained, “We changed the name because it’s not just a place to hang out, but a way to get out and be active.”
Out of School Adventures has offered trips to the swimming pool, ice skating, hiking, curling, dog sledding at Camp Menogyn and bingo at the North Shore Care Center. It offers art classes and “choose your adventure” days for kids from 1st to 8th grades.
The wide range of ages can be challenging, but Wickwire said it is important to be open to all kids. “We fill a need. If one child in the family is at basketball practice, the other can hang out,” she said.
“Sometimes parents join us because they want to learn more about something,” said Wickwire. “That is nice because we have more helpers then.”
Out of School Adventures also gives some special needs youths the chance to take part in those activities and to practice social skills.
Wickwire and Andra Lilienthal of Community Education are in the midst of planning Summer Kids Camp, although the weather has been a challenge. “We were going to do a fishing trip the day before the opening of fishing— we received special permission for that. We were partnering with Cook County Soil & Water and Trout Unlimited. But that was cancelled because of the snow.”
Wickwire is excited that for the first time, Summer Kids Camp will be offering a sliding scale option, so more families may be able to take advantage of the summer adventure program. Parents can enroll their children to attend one day a week to five days, for one week or for the whole summer. “We are flexible, we just ask that people register,” said Wickwire.
Learning is intertwined with a lot of the activities enjoyed by the kids, and that is very apparent in another program Wickwire oversees, the Incredible Exchange. Under this program, funded by Cook County, kids aged 11-14 years old “work” for nonprofit organizations or local government entities— learning valuable lessons about community and serving others. At the end of their Incredible Exchange service last year, 23 kids were rewarded with an opportunity for a recreational opportunity, ranging from drum or piano lessons to pool or ski passes. Wickwire reported that there are 39 applicants for this year’s Incredible Exchange.
Wickwire also works with community partners on what she calls “enrichment opportunities.” She was involved in the creation of an Ojibwe class, which was first planned for just middle school students, but was then opened to adults. North House was a partner in offering a traditional beading class and will soon host a birch bark weaving class. Local maple syrup operators offered tours for kids.
She facilitated the recent Middle School Leadership Training. That training identified the need for more discussion and Wickwire said it is hoped that the community can bring Project START (Students Together – Allies for Racial Trust) to the county. “People got really excited about that,” said Wickwire.
Another aspect of the youth coordinator position is fundraising and Wickwire worked with the KidsPlus board on changes to the KidsPlus discount program. For years, Cook County KidsPlus sold cards that offered a year’s worth of discounts for those who purchased the cards. In 2013, KidsPlus decided to change the format, switching from a wallet card to a coupon booklet. The change, said Wickwire, has brought some feedback and the board will be reconsidering how it will conduct the fundraiser next year.
Also possibly bringing change to youth programming is the opening of the YMCA sometime this year. Wickwire said she is completely willing to work with the YMCA, to look at existing programs and goals. “I only work 20 hours a week, so hopefully bringing the Y to the community will strengthen opportunities for youths,” said Wickwire.
In addition to juggling her youth coordinator duties, Wickwire is also a substitute teacher at Sawtooth Elementary and Great Expectations School and teaches pottery classes at the Grand Marais Art Colony. She honed her teaching skills in Wyoming, where she was an art teacher for six years before moving to Grand Marais.
And Wickwire is mom to a 2-year-old daughter, who she is happy to be raising in Cook County, despite the need for several jobs to survive here. “This is a great place to raise kids,” she said.
For more information about youth programs in Cook County, contact Melissa Wickwire at (218) 387-2271 or e-mail youthcoordinator@ isd166.k12. mn.us.
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