The philosophy of A Helping Hand Youth Center is to provide a developmentally appropriate program for young children that fosters the whole child concept, respects each child as an individual and stimulates a child’s natural interest in, and enjoyment of, learning.  **Our long-term program goals include helping children:

• To become creative, independent thinkers.

• To feel competent, productive and self-reliant, as well as fostering good self-esteem and a sense of self worth.

• To develop a sense of responsibility for their own mental and physical health.

• To understand that they are a part of a diverse, multicultural global community and that their actions influence the quality of that community.

• To foster the value that many kinds of intelligence – linguistic, logical/mathematical, musical, physical, spatial and personal – are valuable and important to our community.

• To encourage the development of higher moral reasoning, helping children to develop into adults with an internalized code of ethics and principles.