The former Sand Point Naval Base is now home to a Seattle Parks Department after-school program for middle school students, grades 6-8.

The program, which is called "The Base," is located in the library in Building 47. The Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center is providing the staffing for the program, thanks in part to funding from the Families and Education Levy that voters approved this past fall.

Building 47, which was used by the Navy as a recreation center, includes a theatre, gymasium, swimming pool, weight room, locker and shower facilities and various meeting rooms. The building will require additional renovations, however, before it can be opened for general public use.

The library and gym have been closed off from the rest of the building to allow use by the after-school program. Ravenna-Eckstein staff worked all through August to clean the area, replace ceiling tiles, and collect furniture from other buildings at Sand Point to make the area suitable for the program.

"It is great to finally have access to this facility - otherwise it would not be possible to offer new programs like this," said Margaret Anthony, north division director of the Parks Department.

The program allows for a multitude of activities, including free time, snacks, and quiet study time for those enrolled in the program.

Mary Anne Fleck, a board member of the Sand Point Activities Program, also welcomed the addition of a program such as "The Base." "It really opens the opportunity for developing inter-generational programs many of us in the neighborhood have been hoping for," she said in a press release issued by the Parks Department.

In addition to the library area, the program offers access to many on-site amenities such as indoor and outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, theater, and all of Magnuson Park.

For more information about "The Base," contact Dave Gilbertson, director of the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, at 684-7534.

SAND POINT SENIOR PROGRAMS REVAMPED:

For the past several years, a small group of visionary senior citizens have been meeting at Sand Point in an effort to design a volunteer senior program that would meet the following three objectives:

€ Volunteerism and Community Service - To capture and extend the accumulated wisdom, experience and expertise of retired persons for their own "productive" aging;

€ Inter-generational - To direct the energy, enthusiasm and strengths of youth for their own positive good as well as others;

€ Adaptable Programming - To adapt volunteer programming to meet the changing profile of the "new older volunteer," as well as attract the approaching surge of "boomer" retirees. The current concept of community service for youth will also be encouraged.

Now that other programs at Sand Point are beginning to take shape, this group, operating under the auspices of the Seattle Department of Parks & Recreation, welcomes suggestions and participation from those other developing programs, as well as names of potential volunteers who are interested in supporting these exciting objectives.

For more information, address correspondence to: Vivian Borkgren, 6333 NE 61st Street, Seattle, 98115.