DATE:    11/18/97
CONTACT: Steve Eggleston,  (803) 478-2105    
WRITER:  Giles Singleton,   (864) 656-3876

Grant Will Fund Clemson Extension Youth Program

     YORK -- A recent $23,881 grant from the S.C. Department of
Public Safety will fund a Clemson Extension program designed to
help youth in at-risk situations stay out of the criminal justice
system.
     For the third year in a row, Extension's "Project Challenge"
will offer middle school students a one-day, adventure-based
teams challenge course. The site this year is the new Matthews
4-H Environmental  Learning Center in York.
     "A teams challenge course is a series of hands-on, physical 
challenges or  events' which require a team effort to complete,"
said  Jason DuBose, adventure program coordinator at the R. M.
Cooper 4-H  Leadership Center in Summerton. "An individual alone
cannot complete any of the events."
      An event may be an eight-foot wall to climb, or walking
across a beam suspended between two trees. Events increase in
difficulty as the team learns to work together, DuBose said.
      One component of the course is a three-square-foot elevated
platform. "The challenge is to get every person on the team on
the platform at the same time," DuBose said.
      "In Project Challenge, the emphasis is on prevention," said
Pam Ardern, coordinator of program development at the S.C. 4-H 
Leadership Centers. "The program offers team building and group
initiative opportunities. Problem-solving and communication
skills are enhanced." 
      The goals of the program are to increase participants'
knowledge and skills, to improve their self-esteem, to decrease
impulse behavior, and to create a support system in school
through informal bonding  and team building. 
     "The program gives the kids great opportunities to work on
their team skills," said Steve Eggleston, Project Challenge
coordinator for the Matthews site. "I'm excited to be a part of
changing their lives."
     "In 23 years of coaching and teaching, this was the best
program I have participated in. We learned a lot about ourselves
and our team," said Jack Gibson, teacher and coach at Lawrence
Manning Academy in Clarendon.
      Each year, the course  has been offered to middle schools
in a different six-county area. This year, counties surrounding
Matthews site may participate. They are: Chester, Cherokee,
Lancaster, Spartanburg, Union and York counties. Schools from
other areas in the state are also welcome. 
     "In past years, many schools wanted to participate but were
unable to afford transportation to the sites. A portable version
of the ropes course is now available so we can take our program
to the schools," DuBose said.
      "The portable ropes course has been very successful. It has
gone all across the state," said Bill Box, director of Matthews
4-H Environmental Learning Center in York and resident director
of the Cooper 4-H Leadership Center.
      "Through Project Challenge at Matthews and the portable
course, we have an opportunity to reach 2,000 kids this year,"
Box said. 
      Schools interested in participating may contact Steve
Eggleston at (803) 478-2105.   
                         END