John Rollins Recreation Center highlights food programs, mentorship and facility needs

John Rollins Recreation Center director Nasha told the Providence Recreational Advisory Board on March 10 that the center has expanded after‑school programming and is addressing food insecurity, mentorship and facilities maintenance at the South Providence site.

The center provides meals to children who attend after school, Nasha said: “So when the kids come directly after school, we give them dinner, even though it's considered a snack. And then around 05:00, 5 30, they get another meal. So we feed them twice.” She described an after‑school program tied to Young Woods Elementary School and year‑round offerings ranging from basketball and soccer to art, garden club and mentorship programs.

Those programs, Nasha said, support both boys and girls; she said a focused effort to increase female participation has produced larger girls’ programs, and she described a boys’ mentorship program that “mirrors our girls' programming so that they feel…