At the Wesley Chapel on West Virginia Wesleyan’s campus Thursday, more than 500 West Virginians, most of them college age, pledged their summers to the Energy Express program.
West Virginia Tech student John Arthur is one of them.
“It makes me feel appreciative that I can give back to my community by helping unfortunate kids that are dealing with some adversities through layoffs and problems in our economy, problems in the coal industry,” Arthur said.
Arthur says that Energy Express provides him the training he needs for life after college.
“I’m going to be a teacher. I’m going to get my master’s in education,” Arthur said.
“So it seemed like the right field to follow, maybe a good step forward in that area.”
Energy Express is a literacy and nutrition program for children in grades 1 through 6.
Energy Express hosts more than 80 sites in 41 West Virginia counties.
The program helps children keep up their reading skills during the summer months.
The children partner with AmeriCorps members to create books, perform original plays, and maintain a healthy diet.
Ruthellen Phillips is the director.
“We are so proud to have been named one of Johns Hopkins Center for Summer Learning three Summer in Excellence Award winners,” Phillips said.
“That is a testament to all the hard work that people across the state have done for Energy Express.”
Each year, Johns Hopkins University awards three summer learning programs across the country.
This year, Energy Express became the first program from West Virginia to ever receive the award.
Executive Director Ron Fairchild of the National Center for Summer Learning presented the award.
“We had 80 applicants apply from 27 states and the District of Columbia. From that group of 80, we selected three programs,” Fairchild said.
“The other two were in Massachusetts, and in South Carolina.”
Fairchild says Energy Express stood out as a program reaching young people across the state.
“This program provides families and kids with choices, with opportunities to make sure they have incredible, enriching and memorable summers,” Fairchild said.
“This program and the volunteers that are going to be participating in it are certainly part of a much larger movement to get people engaged in supporting education for young people during the summer months.”
Through additional funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, there will be a 10 percent increase in the children served this year.
For more information about the Energy Express program, go to their Web site.
Or call your local WVU Extension Service Office to volunteer or participate.