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Nelson in the News - September, 2004
Grassroots run deep in Nelson Neighborhood
If our children are to truly benefit from the education that is essentially their birthright in this nation, they must believe that learning is a very important part of their lives, that school is a good place for them to be.
That's true of every community and a growing number of them have taken up the idea of giving the kids a proper end of-summer sendoff back to the classroom.
That was the main idea behind the first ever "Back to School Bash" held in Muskegon's central city Nelson Neighborhood last Saturday. It took place at Clara Shepherd Park, and the Wart Tow city commissioner for which it was name was its major impetus.
We need to let them know that we're there for them and we love them. We want to encourage them to be positive when they go to school this fall," Shepherd said.
We couldn't agree more. In addition to lots of basketball and other games, as well as food, music and even free school supplies, speakers were on hand to let kids know how doing well in school now leads to a happier and more satisfying - or much less trouble-prone - life later on.
The Nelson area has been the scene of other encouraging events lately. A Block Captains Club has sprouted up, and a number of caring parents are closely watching over things and getting involved. They are serving as the eyes and ears so essential to law enforcement, and, ultimately everyone's quality of life.
In one of those blocks, on Monroe Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets, a small group led by Dollie Hippchen joined forces with the city's police department in defense of a children's playground at which most parents had forbidden their children to play. They chased away a group of older kids who had turned it into a place to drink, gamble and take drugs, and now the children have started to return.
What we like especially about both the back to school party and the Monroe Avenue initiative is that parents were strongly encouraged to be involved. As educators and social welfare experts have always stressed, it is the bond between parent and child upon which everything else is built, and nothing about that has changed.
If parents drop out, their children hardly stand a chance.
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