TEN SLEEP — The Ten Sleep After School program could close soon, after failing to acquire a much-needed grant. With less than $2,000 currently in holdings, Director Mitzi Stephenson is scrambling to find funding, in any form, to keep the doors open.

The service, which is free to Ten Sleep parents, has provided after school care, activities and healthy snacks to kindergarten through fifth graders since 2003. Stephenson has been with the program since 2005, the last three years as director and the sole employee. “We’re really the only game in town for kids whose parents work until 5 or 6,” said Stephenson. “Unless they go to the library, there’s nowhere to go after school.”

In a position that pays a salary of $18,000 annual, with no overtime, Stephenson has been working for free to keep the program going. With only one regular Monday volunteer, managing and providing for the 10 after school students is a chore that Stephenson embraces, but wishes for more help, both physically and monetarily. When not working at the After School Club, Stephenson researches and applies for grants to keep the program going.

“I applied for the Daniels Fund Grant in January, only to find out in June that we had been passed over,” Stephenson said. “It would have provided $40,000, which could have kept us running for two years.” In the meantime, Stephenson is applying for the 21st Century Learning Grant, which, if awarded, could mean an additional $50,000. To supplement the program’s physical rent and utilities, Stephenson relies on Worland’s Youth Alternatives grant, which pays $5,000 per year. As it stands, it’s hardly enough to keep the program running.

The After School Club rents the old Ten Sleep Fire Hall from Ten Sleep Development for $500 per month, and utilities are paid by the school from the After School fund. During the winter, propane to heat the building runs into the thousands, while the usual electric bill is around $70 per month. To provide Internet for the kids’ homework time costs an additional $45, Stephenson.

“If I can land a grant, we could do great things. I would really like to get people more involved. Maybe start an advisory council and get some teachers or community members involved,” said Stephenson. “At this point, I just don’t know if we can maintain that long.”

For more information on the Ten Sleep After School program, contact Stephenson via email at [email protected].