Study after study tells us that out-of-school activities for children and youth are critically important to the academic success and personal development of young people. Why are out-of-school activities so important?

• On average young people have about 1,900 hours of discretionary time each year without structure or supervision.
• In Minnesota, 42% of youth ages 10 to 12 are home alone after school – the highest percentage in the nation.
• Participation in after-school programs has been linked to better school attendance, better grades and test scores, more positive attitude towards school work, higher aspirations for college, better work habits, better interpersonal skills, and reduced drop out rates.

Circus Juventas realized the importance of these activities 17 years ago when we started offering circus performing arts activities and made youth development our core mission. Circus performing arts offer advantages over nearly every other youth development activity--

• Children and youth are challenged by both individual and team goal-setting and achievement.
• No student is “cut” from a team or act and each young person is supported in excelling within their comfort level and ability.
• Boys and girls and younger and older students train and perform together and in the process learn appreciation and respect for what each brings to an act or performance.
• Students develop social and leadership skills through relationships with both peers and adults.
• Kids are exposed to new and exciting outlets for physical activity and creative expression.
• Children and youth develop health and fitness habits that will serve them for a lifetime.
• Young people are mentored in multiple ways: by our international staff of coaches, by older students and by interaction with our hundreds of parent volunteers.

Many of the students who come to Circus Juventas do so after trying other activities where they didn’t “fit in.” Some don’t make first string on a sports team; others face physical or other obstacles to participation in traditional team activities or arts programs. These are just the kinds of children and youth who benefit most from Circus Juventas.

Unfortunately, Circus Juventas is like many other nonprofit programs trying to address the critical need for afterschool and summer enrichment options in an economy where funding is scarce and families are struggling financially.

At this time we have more than 900 kids enrolled in our program and have to turn away dozens every session because we are operating at full capacity. Nearly 18 percent of Circus Juventas students rely on scholarship support, work-study offerings and other subsidized fee arrangements.

We rely on generous donors, volunteers, parents and others to help us be inclusive and accessible to all families. Special programming and tuition assistance is essential to ensure that all segments of our community are being served.

This year, we will need to raise a total of $125,000 to help us maintain the quality, affordability and accessibility of our programs. We’d like to ask you to consider a donation to help meet that goal. Your donation will help--

• Keep our class fees stable and allow us to offer scholarship support to students who cannot afford to participate because of financial circumstances.
• Subsidize the cost of performances for schools and other groups who might not otherwise be able to attend circus arts performances.
• Develop and sustain accessibility activities such as our “Wings” program which is allowing students with disabilities to actively participate in circus performing arts.

We realize during these tough economic times that you’re being asked to give more and more by a growing number of charities. As you make these difficult giving decisions, we hope you’ll consider a gift to Circus Juventas.