Church Takes Initiative To Fill Child-Care Gap

Two weeks ago, Bobbi Cobb jumped to action, warning parents through posted signs and phone calls that a 1-year-old had showed up at the Richard Allen Youth Academy with chicken pox.

Cobb learned to shoulder responsibility after the board of directors of Spokane’s Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church selected her as the lead teacher of the 8-month-old youth academy, located in the church’s basement.

She helped the Bethel A.M.E. congregation bring the academy to life by writing the curriculum and employee guidelines, and by ordering equipment and toys.

“This was a real need in the community,” she says.

The Martin Luther King Center ended its early childhood education program last spring. Then Head Start moved from Liberty Park to a new location in Hillyard.

Members of Bethel A.M.E. knew their neighborhood needed a program for infants through preschool-age children.

“We just had to have it,” says Rev. Lonnie Mitchell, pastor at Bethel A.M.E.

A committee of church members secured a loan from U.S. Bank. Then they hired the youth academy staff and redesigned the basement to suit the program. The academy opened Sept. 3.

According to a church brochure, the Richard Allen Youth Academy “increases access to child care for approximately 35 families who would otherwise have to find this service outside their neighborhood.”

The Bethel A.M.E. congregation continues to support the youth academy by contributing to a fund to cover operating costs.

“Bethel A.M.E. has always been community-minded. This is really part of the church’s outreach,” says Mitchell.

Bethel A.M.E. also manages the Richard Allen Apartments, which offer 56 HUD subsidized units; runs the Southeast Neighborhood Network, a community computer center; and hosts nightly Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

The congregation is also working to establish the Bethel A.M.E. Foundation of Spokane, an investment fund that would further their community outreach programs.

If you can help support community programs at Bethel A.M.E., or want general information about the church and its services, call 534-3007.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

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