YouthQuest staff members are excited to partner with local businesses through field trip vouchers as one of the ways they are integrating enrichment activities, a core component of the afterschool program.
“We wanted to find a way to give our students and their families enriching experiences while still maintaining social distancing and safety protocols,” says Nefertari Jones, program director of afterschool education at Flint & Genesee Education & Talent. “Luckily, our staff found a way to do so all while supporting our area businesses as well.”
With the field trip vouchers, YouthQuest students and up to five members of their family will be able to go to three local businesses and participate in fun, enriching activities. The businesses included in the field trip voucher program are B’s Bowling Center, Sandbox Virtual Reality Arcade & Rage Rooms and Spymaker Escape Rooms.
To address social distancing and other safety protocols, each YouthQuest site will coordinate sending out field trip vouchers to students and their families for a designated time frame, typically the span of a week. This will allow for only one YouthQuest site to visit the business at a time and will allow businesses to maintain proper occupancy numbers.
With this new program, YouthQuest aims to provide students with experiences that they typically had before the restrictions were put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. The program also aims to support local small businesses during a tough time.
The field trip voucher program launched in March and will continue into the future with plans to partner with other local businesses and organizations.
YouthQuest is made possible through the generous support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and 21st Century Community Learning Centers.