I had a great meeting with an urban youth leader last week who is leading an after school program with kids. There are 3 foci for the after school program: tutoring, mentoring, and enrichment. The first two foci require adults who will invest in kids on a long-term basis. But the enrichment part of the ministry gives adults a chance to volunteer for a shorter-term commitment.

Adults who have skills in the area of art, dance, cooking, or creative writing can volunteer to “enrich” kids lives with ten weeks of lessons. By this ten week commitment, adults who couldn’t volunteer 52 weeks/year can still impact kids.

Obviously, kids need adults who will invest in them every week for the long-haul. But in creating a constellation of adults who care about kids, I love this creative, more short-term way to connect kids with adults. It’s an important piece of the intergenerational web that we have seen make a real difference with kids.