Arnold Schwarzenegger is known for terminating bad guys in his action thrillers. In 1991, he brought his hero act to real life by signing up with the Inner-City Games.
The actor, then chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, joined forces with Games founder Danny Hernandez to give inner-city youth a positive alternative to drugs and gangs.
The program has thrived for the past decade, and now it’s making its debut in South Philadelphia.
Fifty students from Abigail Vare Elementary, 1621 E. Moyamensing Ave., will get to take advantage of the after-school initiative starting Dec. 2.
As the name of the program implies, the youths will play plenty of games, including non-traditional sports like lacrosse, kick-boxing and fencing. But there’s also serious business — all disguised as fun, of course — including conflict-resolution workshops as well as nutrition and physical-fitness classes.
When Dr. Barry Drossner took over as Vare’s principal last year, he immediately noticed a desperate need for after-school programs.
"When I came here, it was very evident that my kids didn’t have any places to go at 3 p.m.," Drossner said. "There were no immediate programs in place. Those in place were already full.
"This is going to be a great benefit."
This school year, the district added a mandatory after-school tutoring program for low-performing students in grades three through eight, but that still leaves many youths without access to activities. The Inner-City Games will help serve the needs of students who are meeting their academic requirements.
Vare is the first elementary school in the city to offer the program. Inner-City Games Philadelphia formed in 1999, and introduced after-school activities at North Philadelphia’s Robert Vaux Middle School and Beeber Middle School. Central East Middle School will join up next week.
Donna Frisby-Greenwood, executive director for Philadelphia Inner-City Games, said having the program at an elementary school makes it easier to influence students at a crucial point in their lives. The free initiative is geared toward areas in which a substantial number of youths are living at or near the poverty line.
"We are looking for those kids whose parents can’t afford to send them somewhere like the Y or Boys and Girls Club," Frisby-Greenwood said.
The majority of the funding for the program comes from the national Inner-City Games. Local fundraisers provide additional financial support. The Philadelphia chapter held its first Torch Award Gala last October at the Four Seasons Hotel. The event, which included a raffle and an auction, raised an impressive $507,738.
The organization also received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control to help combat obesity.
"Obesity is on the rise in general, but it’s higher in low-income areas," Frisby-Greenwood said. "Those kids are at greater risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and hypertension."
Inner-City Games will aim to keep kids healthy by teaching them to kick-box like Jean-Claude Van Damme, and by providing basic lessons in lacrosse and fencing.
The after-school sessions, which will run Mondays through Thursdays from 3-6 p.m., also will nourish youths’ development with workshops on topics ranging from how to make healthy snacks to preparing for college. Those students who don’t participate in sports will receive computer instruction.
Youths will have the opportunity to get sophisticated training in developing computer reports and Web sites, noted Frisby-Greenwood.
The program provides its own staff to serve as mentors and role models. Senior instructors are certified schoolteachers, while junior instructors are typically college students majoring in social work or education.
Inner-City Games officials ask teachers to help identify kids who might benefit from the program. Students fill out an evaluation when they start their sessions, as well as at the end of the school year.
In schools where Inner-City Games already has a presence, principals report increased attendance and fewer incidents of bad behavior in the classroom, Frisby-Greenwood said.
The program could be expanded to a summer session in which students receive lessons in golf, tennis, lacrosse, chess, computer technology and dramatic arts. Once more Philadelphia elementary schools get involved with the program, the various sites could coordinate sports and educational competitions, Frisby-Greenwood said.
For now, the Inner-City Games will give Vare students an after-school safe haven.
The program focuses on the after-school period for a reason. That’s when a disproportionate number of crimes, drug use and violence reportedly occur among youths.
"We want to occupy the children’s time when the parents are working," Frisby-Greenwood said.
After spending the last year planning for the program, Drossner is looking forward to realizing the benefits of the Inner-City Games.
"We are very happy to be selected," the principal said. "It’s an opportunity for our kids to learn and improve their self-esteem."
