Hundreds of students will march in downtown Richmond on Thursday, Sept. 16, to advocate for support of issues affecting children.
The local event organized by the Madison County Delinquency Prevention Council will be part of the nationwide Step Up for Kids Day and will feature more than 400 middle and high school students from the Madison County School District, Model Laboratory School, Berea Community School and Bluegrass Christian School.
“It’s good to see kids who advocate at an early age,” said Jennifer Webb, secretary of the Madison County Delinquency Prevention Council.
“All of the schools have been really positive and supportive,” she said. “I want to go into the community and not only get those younger kids, but those other advocates of child family services.”
The students will gather between 9:30 and 10 a.m. at the Betty Miller Center on Irvine Street.
The Berea Parks and Recreation Department will be on hand to assist the students with making signs for the march.
The Kentucky National Guard will bring their obstacle course for the students to try and the Richmond Fire Department will be grilling hot dogs and handing out cotton candy.
Webb said she is trying to arrange for a big-name speaker to speak to the kids at the center before the march.
The students will begin making their way to the Madison County Courthouse at 11:45 a.m.
If members of the community want to join in the march, they can meet up with the students as they reach CVS pharmacy, but they will need to be in the parking lot at 11:30 a.m., Webb said.
To energize the crowd, the Madison Central High School band and the Steppin’ Indians will perform during the march.
Middle and high school cheerleaders also will be attempting to fire up the crowd.
“They’re going to make up a cheer specific to this event,” Webb said.
Once at the courthouse, the event will feature the Madison Southern High School choir, a Berea Community student singing “My Old Kentucky Home” and a student-performed singing of the National Anthem.
Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway will be guest speaker at the courthouse, along with local officials.
“This is a national event to basically tap on those presidential candidates’ shoulders and saying, ‘What are you going to do for families and children?’” Webb said.
“We want the kids who participate in this to know that they have a voice,” she said. “They learn by example and this event is a good example of how they can use their voice to create change that will help them.”
The Step Up for Kids Day shows that there is tremendous support for children in Madison County, said Michelle Gerken, chair of the Madison County Delinquency Prevention Council.
“The council will continue to press for the continuation of services for children and families in Madison County for funding for after school programs,” she said. “As a community, we need to demonstrate our support for children and families by participating in the rally.”
For details about Step Up for Kids, call 624-4719 or e-mail JenniferWebb@KYCOURTS.NET.
Bryan Marshall can be reached at bmarshall@richmondregister.com or 624-6691.
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