[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1838-E1839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE PINEDALE MANOR BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT C. SCOTT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Saturday, September 28, 1996

  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Congressman Herb Bateman and 
myself, I would like to take this time to share with our colleagues an 
exciting private-public partnership in our hometown of Newport News, 
VA. This program, which will have its grand opening on September 30, 
1996, is the brainchild of Mr. Earl Ferguson, president of Artcraft 
Companies.
  Aircraft Companies has been instrumental in providing and renovating 
affordable housing for low-income families in Richmond, Roanoke, 
Williamsburg, Newport News and Norfolk. While performing these 
renovations, Mr. Ferguson found that many of the children who live in 
these areas are coming home after-school with little to occupy their 
free time. As many of us know, and as documented by research conducted 
by the Carnegie Foundation, children have a great deal of unsupervised 
free time during the day--up to 40 percent. It is during this 
discretionary time that children and youth are most at risk of 
violence, teen-pregnancy and drug use.
  The children who reside in Pinedale Manor in Newport News, newly 
renovated by Artcraft Companies, were also at risk of engaging in these 
destructive activities. Now, through the innovations of Mr. Ferguson, 
these children are members of the Pinedale Manor Boys and Girls Club. 
Mr. Ferguson contributed the funds to open and operate this club on-
site at Pinedale Manor. This unique investment in the Pinedale Manor 
community assures the families of Pinedale Manor the opportunity to 
live in a safe, rehabilitated environment and provides the children a 
structured and supervised program to go to after-school and during the 
evening.
  With support from the Peninsula Boys and Girls Club, the Pinedale 
Manor Boys and Girls Club provides 24 boys and girls an opportunity to 
participate in constructive educational and social development 
activities. Activities such as reading groups, arts and crafts, and 
recreational activities have been instrumental in minimizing the 
dangers that unsupervised after-school time presents to young children. 
The Pinedale Manor Boys and Girls Club is growing and expects to be 
able to accommodate 60 children in the very near future.
  The Pinedale Manor Boys and Girls Club is modeled after the Lincoln 
Manor Boys and Girls Club in Richmond, Virginia, also financed

[[Page E1839]]

by Mr. Ferguson. According to Mr. Ferguson, ``It's the right thing to 
do, and it's the way we want to run our company. But it's also not 
totally philanthropic; it's good mix of economics and common sense.''
  Mr. Speaker, economics and common sense have inspired many public-
private partnerships. This partnership is a model for community 
reinvestment that deserves to be replicated in other local communities. 
Not only will the children of Pinedale Manor benefit from Mr. 
Ferguson's contributions, but the entire community of Newport News will 
have the long-term benefits of this venture.

                          ____________________