When Compassion and Community Converge: Starting a Successful Faith-Based After-School Program with a Service Component

In 2002, the HMCUC, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and a diverse assembly of faith and community stakeholders joined forces to explore ways to utilize untapped and underutilized resources of faith-based organizations to improve academic performance and social development of at-risk and minority youth. The outcome was the creation of a faith and community-based after-school Learn and Serve program that provides students with rewarding and enriching learning experiences, connecting service in their community to academic learning outside of the classroom setting. This publication is a toolkit for developing an after-school service program using faith-based and community organizations.