MCDONOUGH, Ga. - GeorgiaChron -- Crosswalk Ministries USA has announced the launch of their Climb4Crosswalk fundraising campaign with a goal of raising $30,000 by September 30, 2023. The funds raised will allow Crosswalk to open two new campus locations in January 2024, offering their innovative afterschool programs tailored for at-risk middle school students in the Henry County area.

Founded in 1995, Crosswalk's mission is to reduce juvenile crime by providing preventive and aftercare programs for youth at risk and juvenile offenders. For the past decade they have successfully run their ARTreach 180 and SPORTSreach 180 programs helping high school students build relational and coping skills.

The new Climb4Crosswalk campaign will bring Crosswalk's proven youth programming to younger students who can benefit from early intervention and support. According to Sheryl Boddie, Executive Director, "We are the best kept secret in Henry County. It is our hope that the Climb4Crosswalk Campaign will reach and touch people all across our local community and move them to support what we are trying to accomplish."

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The afterschool programs help students make positive life choices and achieve a 180 degree transformation. As one graduate put it, "When I was in high school I dealt with a lot of anger, depression, and I was always in a lot of trouble but I always knew I had potential. When I joined the ARTreach 180 program it changed me in a way that I will never forget, it helped me through my problems, and I always felt like I had somewhere to go to if I had nowhere else or no one else to listen."

The community can support the Climb4Crosswalk campaign by donating online at https://givebutter.com/climb4crosswalk. The fundraising deadline is September 30, 2023.