New program forges partnerships

An event this Saturday hosted by the Saratoga-Philadelphia Civic League will be the first in a series of new partnerships between civic leagues and parent-teacher associations.

The civic league will host the event at the Faith Temple fellowship hall, 623 Brook Ave., at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“If we don’t take charge of the mindset of the children, they will probably just repeat the same cycle,” said Anton Weaver, vice president of the Saratoga-Philadelphia Civic League. “The community needs to be a little more active.”

Dubbed “It Takes All of Us,” the campaign is a partnership between the Community Action Coalition of Suffolk and the Parent Teacher Association. It aims to increase parental involvement in education by bringing school officials into the neighborhoods where they can meet one-on-one with parents.

“This is not just about education, this is about empowering people and letting people know as individuals and collectively, they can actually make a difference,” said Robert Stephens, facilitator of the Community Action Coalition.

Saturday’s event will include refreshments and handouts for those in attendance. Weaver said the community’s elected officials have been invited.

Weaver said more involvement by civic leagues can strengthen the community.

“I think the involvement can only be positive,” he said. “This will help strengthen the civic leagues as well, because we need the youth as well as the mature adults.”

Weaver added that perhaps adults who attend will get more involved.

“Hopefully, it will conjure up some desire for them to be affiliated in the community,” he said.

Stephens said the series will continue until all civic leagues have hosted a meet and greet, and then will start over. In a letter to civic league leaders, he said the civic leagues are the community’s “de facto liaison for helping find solutions to educational problems.”

For more information on the program, call 255-4060 or visit www.facebook.com/CACofSuffolkVA.