How East Side Learning Center combines faith, fun and learning in Binghamton
Children laughed, shrieked and dodged balls during a game of shark ball on a recent afternoon at the East Side Learning Center in Binghamton.
They enjoyed a snack and got help with their homework. They could have been part of any afterschool program in the city except for one difference: Bible time.
The children attend an afterschool program run by Grace Baptist Church, located across the street from the center on Robinson Street. An average of 15 children in kindergarten through sixth grade attend the program held Monday through Wednesdays. Most come from nearby Calvin Coolidge Elementary School. They don’t have to attend the church to attend the afterschool program.
“It’s more about our call as believers to love those in our communities and also love the little ones,” said Rev. Tim Swan, the church’s youth pastor. “It’s about Christ and his call and what we are supposed to do as a community.”
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The church has been running the afterschool program for approximately 15 years but had to shut down when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020. The program reopened last year, he said.
Better known as Pastor Tim, he trades in his Sunday clerical garb for shorts and a t-shirt. He’s always ready to play games with his young charges.
The program is divided into half-hour segments: game time, snack time, Bible time, and homework help. Children can get all their homework done during this part of the program. That’s one less task parents have to do when they bring their children home, Swan said.
“It’s also about loving them and helping them,” he said of parents. “It’s more about them and how we can serve them.”
Those who attend the program say they enjoy it, including Ashton Abel, a 9-year-old fourth-grader at Calvin Coolidge Elementary School. He has been coming to the program for three years. His favorite parts of the program are game time and Bible time, he said.
“We learned about Genesis,” he said.
Swan said he hopes to teach children such as Ashton both Bible and life lessons.
“We want them to grow and become men and women in the community that love Christ and love each other,” he said.
Swan gets help from several volunteers including Nancy Goodrich, who has served the program for the past eight years.
“It’s in my heart,” Goodrich said. “I like working with the kids and telling them that Jesus loves them”
Volunteering at the afterschool program is a family affair for Goodrich, whose daughter, Bethany Pope also volunteers there. Pope’s 20-year-old daughter, Bella, a student at Binghamton University, and her 18-year-old son, Deuce, a student at SUNY Broome Community College, also volunteer.
“It’s fun,” Bethany Pope said. “We teach them about Christ and what he’s done for us.”
Running the afterschool program is the church’s way to help their neighbors who live on the city’s East Side, Swan said.
“We love the community,” he said. “We are here to support them and help them in any way we can.”
About Grace Baptist Church
Located at 33-35 Howard Ave., Binghamton; the church holds its Sunday services at 9:30 a.m.
Rev. Scott Roloson serves as the church’s senior pastor. For more information, find the church on Facebook or go to www.gracebaptistbinghamton.com
For more information, contact Tim Swan at EastsideLearningCenter.GBC@gmail.com or -716-353-3258.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: East Side Learning Center offers Bible study as afterschool program
