United Way looks to provide summer programs, internships for youths

ALBANY – As many as 2,000 youngsters in Dougherty County could have opportunities to participate in summer activities through a first-year program being proposed by the United Way of Southwest Georgia that also would provide up to 40 summer internships.

The organization is looking to build a coalition and monitor the impact the programs have on youngsters.

This week, United Way President and CEO Orson Burton Jr. requested funding for the program from the Albany City Commission in the amount of $200,000 and made an ask of the Dougherty County Commission for $175,000. 

On Tuesday, Burton told city commissioners that he would request $25,000 from the Dougherty County School System. 

In addition to funding, Burton asked the entities to appoint a liaison to the program’s advisory council, to hear a mid-summer update and another report at the end of the program and to help notify the public about it.

Students who are out of school are more susceptible to gang activity, a summer loss in learning and increased exposure to negative influences and violence, Burton said.

“When school lets out, structure lets out,” he said. “We can invest early … or we can pay later through crime and lost opportunity.”

The program will offer subsidies to students who can not afford summer activities, he said. United Way will provide oversight and compliance.

Of the 15,000 students in Dougherty County, about 5,000 were served last year through summer programs, leaving 10,000 at home or “roaming the streets of our community,” Dontravious Simmons of Grow Southwest Georgia told county commissioners on Monday.

“Since COVID, a lot of these youth organizations have experienced a decline in enrollment,” Simmons said. “We have seen a number of (incidents of) youth violence around the city and our community.”

The United Way identified a need to boost summer programs last year, Burton said. Another key is tracking the effectiveness.

“We have a lot of activities in Dougherty County,” he said. “We want outcomes. We know that in Dougherty County and Albany we suffer from the lack of data infrastructure. We’ll gather the data and ensure there is a strategy in return on investment. What we’ve been missing is the coordination, the infrastructure and the organization.”

If the program proves successful, Burton said, United Way could expand to other counties in the future.