BRYAN, Texas — Last school year, Leann Lennie-Bachmeyer's daughter, Lyla, got home from school before she and her husband got off work.
With her working in the courthouse and her husband working in law enforcement, it was difficult to get off in time.
She tried hiring nannies, but she needed a better solution.
She decided to make sure she was on time to sign Lyla up for the after-school program at the Boys and Girls Club of the Brazos Valley this year.
"Last year, it was really difficult because Lyla would get home first, and we'd both still be working, and we had to struggle going back and forth trying to find care — it’s going to be a tremendous help," Lennie-Bachmeyer said.
The organization began the first day of its program Monday to help parents like Lennie-Bachmeyer.
Her daughter is one of the 200 kids expected to attend.
CEO Rhonda Watson says they know how hard balancing school can be for working parents.
"We help parents by providing their children with a safe place with caring adults who want to see them succeed, and offering a variety of programs that can help them achieve their goals," Watson said.
The program is designed to take the burden of families — parents drop their kids off, and the staff takes care of the rest.
Students receive tutoring, a chance to play and build friendships, and they get an evening meal before coming home.
"Our promise to families is that their homework will be done when they come home to likely tired parents who are just getting off work," Watson said.
"Of course, we value the times families have together at end of day, so we want to send them home with their bellies full and their homework done."
Lennie-Bachmeyer says this will prevent her and her daughter from staying up late and help her out with her responsibilities as a parent.
"Instead of me having to rush home and try to figure out dinner and try to help with homework and not get to bed until 9:30 or 10:00 p.m., it’s going to make our lives a lot easier," Lennie-Bachmeyer said.
The registration for the program is closed, but anyone can still sign their children up for other programs like "A New Teen" program coming in the fall.