By Christine Kilfoil
During the first province-wide school lockdown one year ago n March, the Lowertown Community Resource Centre (LCRC) responded immediately. The LCRC was quick to adapt in creative ways to continue to serve the community while staying safe. While other CRCs closed their after-school programs and laid off staff, the LCRC kept all of its after-school-program staff working and moved to a virtual Club 310 program for Lowertown kids.
The decision to stay open was prompted by the need to keep Lowertown kids connected to the program, their community and each other as key to helping them stay well. Club 310 is free after-school program offered by the LCRC. The program is for children 6 to 12 and runs Monday through Friday from 2:30 to 5:30pm at York Street Public School (310 York Street). Children are provided with a healthy snack as well as a variety of physical and artistic activities and workshops.
Club 310 has managed to adapt to the pandemic and continue to offer a safe place for the kids of Lowertown to go once the school day ends. In addition to the virtual program, the LCRC also initiated a snack program that provided food and healthy snacks to kids who would normally have breakfast at school and then another meal at Club 310.
The LCRC distributed food and snacks once weekly to more than 140 children from Lowertown throughout the provincial lockdown. This program was in operation from March 2020 until the end of September 2020.
When the school lockdown lifted and in-person learning resumed in September, Club 310 also resumed in-person operations at York Street School. It followed all of the guidelines and protocols mandated by Public Health and the Ministry of Education.
Club 310 has a wide reach that serves children from many different schools that reside in Lowertown drawing kids from École Sainte-Anne, École Francojeunesse, St. Brigid School, and Rockliffe Park Public School. However, when schools re-opened in September, access to York Street School was limited exclusively to York Street students. In order to serve kids from other schools the LCRC opened a second after-school program at the Lowertown Youth Centre. It also partnered with Crossroads Children’s Mental Health Centre.
With the most recent provincial lockdown, the LCRC resumed its virtual after-school program as well as the snack program. Virtual Club 310 creates a virtual classroom where staff uploaded activities and challenges every day.
Staff member Megan Wilson-Lockhart says that staff and kids meet on Google Meet–one group of children 5 to10 years old and one group of for 10-13 year-olds—to watch movies, play educational games, go on tours of museums and play team-building exercises. There was also an animation workshop with MASC artist Tina Le Moine.
The program also has an online classroom where children can watch videos, ask for homework help and interact with other students as well as facilitators. Club 310 offers incentives and prizes to the students who complete the most challenges, like coloiring books, games, puzzles, Lego small gift cards.
Club 310 has always played a crucial role in the lives of the kids of Lowertown. When they move on to high school, many former Club 310 members come back to volunteer and to connect with old friends and staff.
The program changes the lives of Lowertown children in ways that are impossible to measure. During the pandemic, it has been a lifeline for the children of Lowertown, offering stability and some semblance of normalcy during abnormal times.
Virtual Club 310 will continue even though the stay-at-home orders have been lifted, offering activities to students learning from home.
Lowertown residents can email meagangilsonlockhart@crbcv.ca for more information about Club 310. The program is offered in both English and French.