TOLEDO, Ohio — As a way to keep Toledo's youth safe this summer, city officials have launched this year's summer recreation and enrichment season for kids.
More than 100 programs will be offered for kids this summer through the city, and almost all of them are free.
"This year you can't say that there's nothing to do," Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said Wednesday.
The mayor called the programs one way to address the city's violence, saying these programs will keep kids busy and out of trouble.
"This is one of the things that are part of the solution, it's not the only thing," Kapszukiewicz said. "Obviously we need more police, we need a number of things like that. But, I think everyone agrees that youth programming is a part of the solution."
And to do that, the city has made sure there's a program for everyone's interest. From basketball and golf to chess and a new program to help girls learn how to build something using power tools.
"Statistics say only 10 percent of women occupy the space of construction or architecture. We want to make sure these young women have the opportunity to learn and maybe this is the field of expertise that they'd want to go into," Women of Toledo's Mary Brucker said.
Now, the goal is to make sure kids are taking part.
Toledo City Councilwoman Cerssandra McPherson said she's heard from concerned parents about kids' safety during these programs. But she's urging people to step up and be what she calls "a safety net."
"The community asked for the programs for young people to get them off the streets, we've made that happen," McPherson said. "Now, we ask you to be a participant in this process. Come out and volunteer."
These programs begin as early as Memorial Day weekend and some of them last all the way through August right up until school starting.
For a full list of programs offered this summer, click here.
More on WTOL: