Formerly the Baldwin Consolidated Elementary School, the Baldwin Community Center is now bustling with activity year round. In addition to housing the town offices, the center’s newest resident is the Baldwin Active Kids Program (BAKP). BAKP offers after school fun and fitness for ages 5-12 and has just announced 9 weeks of Summer Fun Camp beginning June 17, 2019.
“We just started taking camp reservations and we’re already half full” remarked Ariel Nickerson, BAKP Director “We’re only accepting 30 students for camp in our first year so we expect to fill up by the end of May!”
Nickerson has been running the program since early April and the kids are loving the activities while the parents and caregivers are loving the convenience. During the school year, the bus drops the students right at the Community Center and they can be picked up as late as 6pm.
Keeping the kids active is an integral part of the program, so is feeding them healthy food. Fresh fruits and vegetables are served everyday to give the children the proper nutrition they need to play hard and exercise. BAKP also engages the students with cool crafts and science projects to keep it interesting while keeping the focus on being kind and playing fair.
The Community Center was the perfect site to start up the program. With classrooms, a cafeteria, playgrounds and ball fields it was an easy choice. Thanks to the Maine Community Grant Foundation PF Fund, the kitchen was remodeled in 2017/2018 complete with new appliances and commercial refrigeration.
The Town of Baldwin is now investigating offering the Summer Food Service Program which if implemented, will feed all children under the age of 18 free, healthy breakfasts and lunches for 9 weeks of the summer.
The Town purchased the building in September of 2017 and moved the Baldwin Town offices into one side in the Spring of 2018. Since then, the Community Center has been home to a variety of classes, senior luncheons, SVRC Youth Cheering, Girl Scouts and more! Check out the Baldwin Community Center Facebook page and keep up with the ever changing schedule offering everything from art classes to line dancing to Tai Chi.
You can find out more, or register by emailing baldwinactivekids@gmail.com.
By Lisa Tutor
