The bold bright kerchiefs, blackened teeth, big swords, and impromptu street scuffles between brawny buccaneers marked the beginning of a four-week adventure in learning. Known as Pirates of the Deep Blue Sea, the adventure inspired 28 children from Kentucky to open their dreams to a world beyond the Bluegrass. Little did Phyllis, then the Community Education Director for Lincoln County, know that her life would be changed forever on that breezy, June morning.
The morning would mark the beginning of Phyllis’ advocacy efforts for out-of-school (before school, after school, and summer) programs. It was during this trip that Phyllis recognized how an out-of-school program could change a child’s life forever. “We had just checked into the Embassy Suites and (a little girl) tugged on my sleeve. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she looked up and said, ‘Am I dreaming?’” said Phyllis as she reminisced about the trip. “At that moment I was ashamed. I didn’t realize that there were so many children who didn’t have the opportunity to dream big….How can you aspire to be something if you have never had the opportunity to see a world beyond your front door?”
In the following weeks, Phyllis watched history come alive before the children’s eyes. She watched as the children immersed themselves in the world of pirates, learning about geography, mapping, and orienteering. She smiled as the “pirates” sang sea shanties and designed their very own Jolly Rogers, piling butter-cream frosting on top of sheet cakes. The new Pirates of the Bluegrass explored new worlds and found treasures beyond material wealth. Their out-of-school program allowed them to dream big.
The Pirates of the Deep Blue Sea curriculum ended all too soon. Staff, children, and parents longed for more. When Phyllis discovered the need for a coordinator for the newly formed Kentucky Afterschool Network (now the Kentucky Out-of-School Alliance), she jumped at the chance. She was selected from a sea of applicants to lead the alliance. Her charge? Bring people, organizations, and government officials together to create a sustainable statewide structure that will influence policy to ensure that every child and youth has access to high quality out-of-school time programs.
Phyllis’ commitment to Kentucky’s youth and her uncanny knack for bringing people together is extraordinary. Through her leadership this past year and a half, the alliance has thrived. Over 350 organizations and individuals have joined the alliance and been inspired and empowered to make a difference in a child’s life. Though the alliance works throughout the year to advocate for out-of-school programs, there is an annual event that reminds Phyllis of the very adventure that brought her to where she is today. Like the pirate adventure, it begins with a busload of children and caring adults.
Though the destination has changed, inevitably Phyllis feels a chill run up her spine. Not because she and the children are surrounded by pirates, but because they are surrounded by some of the most influential men and women in the country—Congressional Leaders. It is the Afterschool for All Challenge in Washington, D.C., and for Phyllis it is a dream bigger than she could have ever imagined. Not only are children given the opportunity to see and experience the world beyond their front door, they are empowered to find their voice and to change their world for the better.
