Bigfork's LEAP pays off for children
Cadin Perez, 7, plays a computer game while Kainin Lafontaine, 7, reads a book at BIgfork's LEAP Program at Crossroads Christian Fellowship on Wednesday afternoon. One third of the money raised at Sunday's Taste of Bigfork will go toward the after-school program. Nate Chute/Daily Inter Lake
LEAP coordinator Cathy Gaiser bumps fists with Heather Wallace, 7, after she completed a flip off a small trampoline on Wednesday afternoon. Nate Chute/Daily Inter Lake
For years, after-school options for children were somewhat limited in Bigfork.
They could go home and do homework. They could go home and not do homework. Or they could take gymnastics from Cathy Gaiser.
"Gymnastics was the only thing to do," Gaiser said. "A lot of kids did it, but they didn't really like it all that much. They just did it because it was the only thing to do."
Then, in 2006, people at Crossroads Christian Fellowship took to heart a challenge from the church to make a difference in the community. Gaiser and others from the church decided Bigfork's lack of after-school activities for elementary students was the perfect place to make a difference.
The result was LEAP, short for Leadership, Education and Athletics in Partnership. Since it began in 2006, the after-school program has swelled from 40 students to 220.
The program is inexpensive - about $3 a day - to keep it affordable for most families, said Gaiser, the program's director. Children who are eligible for the federal government's Free and Reduced Lunch program attend LEAP for free.
The number of children who attend for free has doubled this year, from about 30 last year to 60 this year, Gaiser said. The program also offers scholarships.
"Our goal really is to not turn kids away, to make it possible for all kids to be part of the program," Gaiser said.
As the program grew, so did its list of activities. From just a handful of options the first year, LEAP has expanded to include everything from "Einstein Club" for children involved in science projects to 4-H to art and music lessons.
Kids who need help with homework can find it at LEAP. The program offers mentoring to students who need it.
"It's not a day care," Gaiser said. "It's not a place for kids to come hang out."
Soon, LEAP may be able to offer its children counseling services as well, Gaiser said. Jim FitzGerald, executive director of Intermountain, a Helena-based agency for emotionally disturbed children, meets biweekly with LEAP staff to discuss dealing with "needy kids who may need more than just academics and a feel-good facility," Gaiser said.
There are plenty of feel-good activities. The program's 25 volunteers offer a wide variety of activities to keep children entertained, such as Scott Hollinger's "What's Inside."
"He brings broken computers, cell phones, adding machines and lets the kids tear them apart to see what's inside," Gaiser said. "They love it - the boys especially."
Another volunteer, Wai Mizutani, is a concert violinist who asked if he could offer lessons at LEAP. The program got an $800 grant, bought 14 violins and now Mizutani gives lessons once a week.
Students produce a newspaper, the By Golly News, a few times a year. A local artist, Lusanna Stokes, teaches everything from ceramics to wood burning. And Gaiser still teaches gymnastics.
Serena Pierce, who has volunteered at LEAP since its inception, has helped with most of the program's activities.
"I've done everything from reading to passing footballs to coloring - you name it," she said.
But the secret to LEAP's success isn't its varied activities. The program works because so many people care about the students.
That includes the volunteers, paid staff members and a 14-member board of directors, as well as the overall Bigfork community, Gaiser said.
An annual fundraiser keeps the program afloat from year to year. Donations allowed LEAP to buy its own bus so it can pick up children from Bigfork Elementary and Swan River schools.
The program will receive a third of the proceeds from Taste of Bigfork on Sunday. Money from the event is split each year between Habitat for Humanity, the Bigfork Chamber of Commerce and some other local organization, Taste of Bigfork committee chairwoman Gretchen Gates said.
"This year we picked LEAP. It's a great program, and it's always struggling financially," she said.
That kind of support keeps the program going, Gaiser said.
"The community is so supportive of the program. It's amazing how they come out of the woodwork and support it," she said.
"By surrounding yourself with good people and caring people and passionate people, I don't think you can fail."
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Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com