Education and Enrichment

Women's Enrichment Program

This program began as a small book club and has grown consistently over the years. The women follow a structured curriculum and meet in small groups, which gives them a trusting place to share and learn. Its growth shows how much this need was going unmet. Our goal is to add offshoot programs in areas the women have asked for, including learning English, going back to school, physical and mental health, and exploring careers.

Saratoga Women's Initiative

This new and growing program reaches out to the women of the backstretch at Saratoga. Several times during the meet, volunteers visit the women to spend time with them and get to know them. Some visits include a small gift, such as a welcome bag, and others center on a shared activity. Every visit has the same purpose: building relationships and giving the women a circle of friendship and support during the long summer meet.

Men's Group

This newer program meets weekly over lunch at the Chaplaincy Center. It gives men a safe place to talk about the issues in their lives and to learn from one another. As the group grows, we plan to develop a curriculum modeled on the women's program.

Youth Summer Enrichment

Our summer enrichment program for school-age children at Belmont and Saratoga is particularly complex to administer because there are no organized camps which adhere to the schedule of a backstretch worker. We therefore put together a program which varies day by day and week by week in order to take into account the families’ schedules. We recruit an extensive number of volunteers and hire staff to ensure the children are always in a safe environment, where they are able to enjoy the outdoors, gain new experiences, make new friends, and have a safe, educational, and fun summer while remaining together with their parents. 

Teen Mentoring

Teens meet on a regular basis for meetings and outings. The meetings follow a curriculum focused on life skills such as communication, decision-making, leadership, and self-esteem, and trained mentors give the teens positive role models. 

The teenage years are a critical time, and backstretch teens face challenges many of their peers do not. Their parents work long, physically demanding hours that begin before dawn, which leaves little time or finances for activities outside of school. Many are the children of immigrant families and are growing up between two cultures, often helping their parents navigate English, school, and paperwork. Without support, it is easy for them to feel isolated or to lose sight of what is possible for their future.

Teen Mentoring gives these young people trusted adults who believe in them, a place to build confidence and life skills, and experiences they might not otherwise have. It also prepares them for the next step: many of our teens go on to our Graduate Support Program, where we help them plan for college and beyond.

Graduate Support Program

We guide students and their families through the path to college, with:

• College visits and college preparation

• Help with applications and financial aid

• Educational summer plans

• Regular one-on-one meetings with school counselors

This fast-growing program needs financial support to cover its costs. We also provide limited financial assistance, in certain cases, to students who need help bridging the gap between cost and available financial aid. This is a vital step, because without this assistance a student's plans for college would often fall through.