FALLS CHURCH, VA - Boat People SOS (BPSOS) Educational and Recreational Activities Program for Youth-Mentoring will host an end of the summer social. The program provides Vietnamese youth with safe, educational, and cultural after school activities during the critical 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. window, when many parents are still working and juvenile crime rates triple. Youths in the program are not only safe; they are doing better in school, have higher self-confidence, and show more interest in learning.

The social will take place Sunday, August 24, 2003 at 1:30pm. The event will be held at the Mason District Center's Community Room, 6507 Columbia Pike.

Attendees will have a chance to enjoy authentic Vietnamese food and see cultural performances by the students.
As an extension of the Educational and Recreational Activities (ERA) program, BPSOS-Falls Church established the ERA-Mentoring program in October of 2002 with funding from the Department of Education. Other ERA programs are already in existence at BPSOS branch offices such as Adelphi, MD; Camden, NJ; Atlanta, GA; New Orleans, LA; and Washington, DC. At these sites, after-school tutorial programs, cultural and recreational activities, field trips, and computer literacy are offered to Vietnamese youth.