CLAUDIA NANCE ROLLINS YOUTH CENTER
afterschool Operations
afterschool
drop-in hours for catoosa county 6th-12th graders
2024/2025 After-School Schedule:
High School Days:
- MONDAY (3:30 – 6 PM)
- WEDNESDAY (2:30 – 6 PM)
Middle School Days:
- TUESDAY (3:30 – 6 PM)
- THURSDAY (3:30 – 6 PM)
Friday (3:30 – 6 PM): Middle & High School Students
*Exceptions will ONLY be made at the discretion of the Executive Director because of Program Requirements.*
LIFT Youth Center Inc will follow the Catoosa County Schools Calendar and Emergency Closings. Programming offered during these hours is free to all enrolled students.
Beyond afterschool
During the school day, if the center is open (typically between 9am-2pm, Mon-Fri), we will partner with other community groups, like home school networks, senior citizens, and foster care families.
Evening hours (typically 7-9pm, Mon-Fri) will be open for local organizations to hold support groups, workshops, gatherings, and additional student or community events to give healthy alternatives, education, and support.
If you or your organization would like to inquire about potential partnership in programming please contact:
LIFT’s Executive Director, Tina Pinkston at tina@LIFT-ringgold.org
About Claudia Nance Rollins
Who is Claudia Nance Rollins?
Claudia Nance Rollins was a devout Christian, a talented musician, a dedicated elementary school teacher, and a gardener so gifted with plants and flowers that her extended family in Catoosa County often compared her gardens to a beautiful painting. But Mrs. Rollins was first and foremost the mother of O. Wayne and John W. Rollins, both successful entrepreneurs and business men.
Born on September 28, 1886 to Robert and Emma Nance, Claudia was one of nine children raised by a widowed mother in the rural community of Smith Chapel. When she was 24, she married a local farmer named Henry Rollins, a man whose quiet strength and quick temper were a perfect match for the energetic and insightful Claudia. An early champion of education, Mrs. Rollins helped the community build churches and schools. She was known to all as a neighbor who always helped the less fortunate, someone who set in motion the very principles of philanthropy that her sons later embraced.
As a mother, Mrs. Rollins impressed upon her two sons that they could achieve anything through honesty, integrity and hard work. She encouraged her sons to work harder than anyone else, to always strive to be better than average, to be leaders not followers, to dare to dream, to aspire, to achieve great things, and to never forget the importance of family. Her two sons never failed to heed their mother’s words and collectively founded eight different companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Claudia Nance Rollins lived to be nearly 90 years old. She died on April 13, 1976.
LIFT is honored to have this facility named in honor of such an extraordinary woman from our community. The legacy her sons continue to build in her name is a beautiful testimony of their commitment to Catoosa County.
How we R.E.A.C.H. Students
R ecreation programs:
- Game area available: ping-pong, foosball, billiards, basketball hoops and cornhole. Chill out spaces with board games, books and video games
- Field trips and events: hiking, climbing, geocaching, yoga, Slip-n-Dive Kickball, Lula Lake Family Adventure Day and concerts
E ducational programs:
- Offering different workshops on practical life skills: finances, job interviews, car maintenance, cooking, health and wellness practices, etc.
- Introduce new career paths and possibilities, giving homework help and tutoring in key subjects
A rt programs:
- Art room available with crafts and materials for unstructured creativity, engaging students theauraputicaly, culturally, socially and personally
- Offering different classes students can choose from: music, writing, video and community art projects
c ommunity programs:
- Hosting different small groups — by interests, issues and struggles — so they can build strong relationships and develop a sense of belonging that can bridge negative isolation
- Working with the school system to bring LIFT’s positive influence to the general population
- Community projects done by the students to serve our environment, our county and its citizens
h ealth programs:
- Hosting and referring community resources (such as mental, physical and spiritual health) which might be hard for students to access otherwise
- Offering parent/guardian meetings and workshops to facilitate growth and systemic change
- Creating a safe space for students to access diversity and inclusion programming
Priorities
asset development
Studies have demonstrated that the more assets a young person has the less likely they are to engage in risky or unlawful behavior and the more likely they are to perform well in school. LIFT will leverage evidence-based practices to assist youth in constructing building blocks that they need to grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.
building resiliency
Resiliency is a model which assumes that stress is inevitable, but even the worst experiences don’t have to lead to disastrous outcomes. Resilient individuals are able to bounce back from or adapt to stressful events. LIFT will foster positive self-esteem, problem solving, a strong sense of identity and positive role model presence, all of which contribute factors to a young person’s resiliency.
Evidence-Based Goals
- Student loitering will be reduced by creating a safe, inclusive, supervised, substance-free place to socialize.
- Student leadership will increase through activities offered at the Youth Center and in other arenas.
- Students will build their repertoire of creative, practical, emotional, interpersonal and communication skills.
- Students will have a wider variety of experiences and opportunities that will increase their asset development.
- Students will be given tools and resources to cope with life challenges and build resiliency.
- Students without sufficient social networks will build the web of support and connection needed to thrive.
- Students utilizing tutoring and mentors will see an increase in academic performance and school behavior.
