BRATTLEBORO — The New England Center for Circus Arts is launching a new outreach program, the Circus Affects Project, to combine free circus activities and food opportunities to support the development of young people in Brattleboro's underserved areas.
Open to youth ages 7 to 17 living at Moore Court and Ledgewood Heights, NECCA's award winning coaches will teach a range of skills including juggling, low wire, acrobatics, human pyramids, theater games, clowning, and unicycling.
The Circus Affects Project is supported by grants from Cirque du Soleil and the Windham Foundation.
“Our goal is to connect young people in low income housing with the empowering, active, and uplifting activities NECCA offers, influencing positive social development while providing exercise and nourishing meals,” Serenity Smith Forchion, NECCA co-founder and project coordinator, said in a news release.
Circus is noncompetitive, creative, physically involving, and open to all body types, so it is an ideal medium for working with outreach groups. It has also been shown that combining a fun activity with a meals program brings more participation in both opportunities.
NECCA has teamed up with the Summer Food program offered through the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union. The Circus activities will meet two days a week at each location - Moore Court on Mondays and Thursday and Ledgewood Heights on Tuesdays and Fridays from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Free Summer Meals are provided prior to the activities at both locations as well as every weekday - breakfast from 9 to 9:30 a.m. and lunch from noon to 12:30 p.m.