Keystone
to Discovery Enrichment Program “Building
the Archway to Success”
Letter
from the Director
Thank
you for your interest in the Keystone Program. We are so proud of all this
program has accomplished for our students and our community. As we crafted the concepts and goals
that would steer the course for Keystone, we had no idea that the program would
come to reach so many, and to serve in so many different ways.
While
our basic mission is to provide enriching, life-enhancing experiences to the
valley’s under-served youth, we have also become an invaluable resource for many
Bitterroot families who struggle each month to provide the basics for their
children and themselves. From discreetly providing a pair of winter
boots or a warm coat to a child who needs them, to simply providing a
non-judgmental ear for students and parents alike through the challenges and
celebrations of daily life, Keystone gives this community something
that cannot always be easily described or quantified.
Many
of our students are considered at-risk, either academically
or behaviorally, within the school system. We offer them the chance
to have success. From the boy with learning disabilities who has
excelled in hands-on carpentry projects, to the girl with behavioral problems
who has recently found her niche helping other students with homework, our
students are given the support they need to try and try again. Many
of our Keystone ‘graduates’ still join us on a weekly basis, walking over from
the high school and middle school to spend time with their favorite staff
members. They mentor and encourage the younger students
with the patience and acceptance that they were shown when they first walked
through our doors. We are beginning to see that the ramifications of their
experiences at Keystone go far beyond anything we had anticipated or
expected.
As
economic times become more difficult we are seeing more and more parents seeking
scholarships for their children to continue in the program. The majority
of our students come from non-traditional families, and are often being raised
by grandparents or single-parents who have no room in their budgets for the
after school classes and opportunities they would love to be able to offer their
children. We are turning to the community to ask you to invest in these
children. Help them gain experiences and skills that will give them
strength of character, creativity, and compassion as adults.
Thank
you for your support,
Ria Overholt
