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Please Click here to see the Harrison Township's Youth & Family Program Calendar
Partners of the Program
The Harrison Township Youth & Family Program Initiative is a concept which in it's most fundamental form is quite simple. The township is serving as a clearing house of information to share with the residents of Harrison Township. In reality, this program would not be able to be a fully functioning mechanism without the support of the many local organizations and neighborhood associations which meet on a regular basis to discuss new program ideas as well as new ways to get information out to the public in general. The township and all the partnering agencies are committed to helping all the residents, from the young to the retirees of our community,find new and exciting programs to participate in. Below is a list of the respective organizations which are a part of the Harrison Township Youth & Family Program Initiative. Please click on their link to find further information about their respective organizations as well as the programs they have to offer the community as a whole. If your group or organizations is interested in seeing how you can become a partner in our program or if your organization has a community event which can be posted on our calendar, please contact Jack Kuntz at (937) 890-5611. Sensei Glenda Olin & Partners Against Crime (PAC) Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm The Vineyard Our Lady of Mercy & Queen of Martyrs Catholic Churches Montgomery County 4-H Program & The Ohio State Extension Montgomery County Police Athletic League (PAL) Hillcrest Seventh Day Adventist Dayton Metro Library (Ft. McKinley & Northtown Branches) Northridge Church of the Nazarene Kay Fowler and Farmer's Insurance and their educational tools The Salvation Army's, Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center
Youth and Family Program Conceptual Plan
For the past several years, the township trustees have looked into various possibilities to bring more youth and family activities to the residents of Harrison Township. Many of these attempts were unsuccessful due to not being able to find the right circumstances mixed with an appropriate opportunity for everyone involved. In 2009, township staff began working on the Harrison Township Youth & Family Program Initiative, a program which township staff believed could take advantage of the many ample programs which were currently in existence throughout the Montgomery County region. Township staff began meeting with leaders from the various faith communities, non-profit agencies, neighborhood leaders, business community and other governmental agencies with youth and family programs. The goal was to come up with a more cohesive plan in getting the information out to the residents of the township. We also began studying to see if there were possibly new programs and partnerships that could be developed in order to assist everyone involved heading into the future. Township staff created a survey in September of 2009 looking to see what the township residents currently participated in and what they would like to see heading into the future as well as why residents currently did or did not participate in current programs. The results showed the majority of the residents did not participate in programs due to a lack of overall knowledge about the existing programs. Through this initiative, staff determined that the best way to move forward was to create a community calendar of events. The township would serve as the clearing house for information and the township would subsequently make sure the information got out to the residents through the web based calendar as well as a hard copy of the calendar which would be sent out to libraries, local businesses as well as retirement communities and schools. Please take a moment and review the calendar to see if there may be some events in our community that you and your family can begin taking part of. There are many great events in our community just waiting for our residents to discover them. If you know of any additional events or organizations which do not appear to be a part of this program, please contact Jack Kuntz at 890-5611. In following with the goals of the youth and family program, in early March 2011, the Harrison Township Board of Trustees authorized the township administrator to enter into an agreement with Stillwater United Methodist in order for Stillwater and their church partners (Higherground UM, Northridge Wesleyan, and Northridge Nazarene) to begin bringing youth programs to the Northridge community at the former Harrison Township Fire Station located on Ontario Fire Station. Through the summer months, Stillwater Church held weekly "Kids Camp" activities at the fire station. Starting in September and running through the end of 2011, Stillwater will be offering "Kids Camp" on the last Friday of every month and a "Teen Movie Night" on the third Thursday every month. Stillwater is also planning on having a Christmas party for the Northridge youth at the fire station in December. This along with Ft. McKinley UM's use of the former Fire Station on Michigan Avenue for the Fort's Project Neighborhood, are two examples of Harrison Township partnering with our neighboring organizations to create more youth and family type of programs for our residents. At the first meeting in November, the Board of Trustees will grant staff the authorization through Resolution to extend both agreements with Stillwater and Ft. McKinley to use the respective former fire stations for an additional 12 months,which will run through the end of 2012. Harrison Township continues to be excited to be joining with our community partners in bringing youth and family programs to our residents in Harrison Township. |