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(WNY News Now) – Jamestown – WNY News Now recently interviewed Chautauqua Striders, discussing the various programs and services they offer to help youth developement.

WNY News Now recently sat down (and stood up) with Jen Swan-Leuze (Executive Director), Erika Maberry (Director of Mentoring & Advocacy), Suzette Iacuzzo (Academic Coordinator), and Lexi Lindamer (Director of Athletics) of Chautauqua Striders, to learn more about the various youth programs and services they offer to the community.

Chautauqua Striders, a non-profit founded 45 years ago as a track club, developed into a multi-faceted organization focused on providing holistic support for a child’s developement. They now provide student enrichment academically, athletically, emotionally, and socially through their various programs.

On the academic front, Striders has their Safari program, run through Jamestown High School, which allows students to meet with tutors during the school day who help them learn studying and organizational skills as well as assisting them with their homework. They also utilize tutoring programs run through the Boys and Girls Club in both Jamestown and Dunkirk, as well as academic enrichment programs for Elementary and Middle School students in both cities.

In addition to these programs, Striders offers tutoring services both in-person at their Jamestown location, which can be found at 301 E. Second Street as well as online tutoring services for those who might not be able to attend physically. They offer both group sessions as well as one-on-one sessions.

For in-person tutoring, their group sessions are generally from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. from Monday to Thursday. After their group sessions end, they offer one-on-one sessions from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. They offer online tutoring Monday through Friday, from 3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Striders also offers SAT prep and Regents prep for high schoolers, as well as summertime one-on-one sessions at their Jamestown location to help combat the summer slide and ensure that students retain the information they learned in the preceding year.

But Striders does not limit themselves to helping students develop their grades. Their Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Program helps students develop life skills that they may be struggling with, such as managing their emotions or making friends. They also help students with various skills they will need once they reach adulthood, such as writing a resume, applying for jobs, and money management, among others.

They also provide a volunteer mentorship program, where community members can apply to become a mentor and help develop a healthy relationship with students, providing a positive role model for them to engage with. There is also a peer-to-peer mentor program, where older students can step in and serve as mentors for incoming freshmen. For those interested in learning how to become a mentor, you can visit their website, chqstriders.org. They can make use of mentors of all types and ages.

Of course, Striders maintains their athletic roots, offering various athletic programs to the community’s youth. They have two summer programs, the first being a six-week Youth Track and Field Developement Program, offered to kids in Chautauqua County ages 5 to 14, and held at Strider Field at Jefferson Middle School in Jamestown. An introductory program to the world of track and field, kids will meet twice a week to learn the fundamentals of the sport and practice their skills in mock meets, where they will have their progress tracked over the course of the program.

The second summer program they offer is Striders’ Track Club, for ages 13 to 18. The six-week program is generally meant for varsity-level kids and serves to act as an extension of the track season into the summer. The program offers kids agency in how they wish to specialize, and they will be coached and trained, with the opportunity to actually compete in USA track and field meets, ranging from local meets in Buffalo and Erie all the way up to national level meets.

Striders also holds various fundraising events, such as their annual Dan Feather Memorial 5K, which takes place at Bergman Park in Jamestown on September 1st in remembrance of their late co-founder Dan Feather, the proceeds of which help support Striders programs. They also hold an annual St. Pat’s Dash, which takes place around St. Patricks Day at the Northwest Arena in Jamestown. The event is their largest of the year, normally seeing over 100 participants. As with the Dan Feather Memorial 5K, the proceeds of the event help fund Striders other programs.

Striders always aims to make their program as affordable as possible, with their mentoring and SEL services being free to all students. Through their contracts with the school district, funding by various foundations, and fundraising events, they provide a low cost of participation. They offer scholarships to families in need, and for $55, a student can come to group tutoring sessions 4 days a week for a whole semester. One-on-one tutoring has a separate hourly.

To learn more about Striders, visit chqstriders.org for more information.