I read a rather startling news story the other day about Schenectady's summer camp in Central Park.

The startling fact was not about the camp itself, but a statement made about the camp . A grandmother of a child attending the camp had all these positive things to say, but the statement that blew my socks off was, "They are all busy and quiet, and nobody's running around screaming."

I don't know about you and yours, but I always thought that a major part of being a child in the summer was to run around and scream. A LOT!

This was how you practiced interaction, where you learned the ins and outs of give and take. This is where you finally stood up and said NOT IT and teased and giggled and ran around (a lot) and yes, screamed, getting it out of your system. This is where you were exactly what you were, a child, not a miniature adult.

Modern research says and I quote, yet again, "We are constantly and persistently overloading our children with too many classes, too many lessons and not enough free time, time to explore and grow and problem solve and use creative thinking."

Most of our most brilliant and creative men and women spent hours alone, reading and writing and exploring natural studies. Getting dirty is not an option; it is a necessity if you want to make a fort or collect bugs or even dig to China. Swimming until your lips turn blue and teeth chatter is de rigour to learning stamina and courage. And cooking out, making fires, and watching the stars and mosquitoes come out is a definite rite of passage.

No, I am not against learning and education, but the summer is the perfect time to set your own curriculum, to learn about yourself and maybe discover where you fit into this complex world.

And speaking of children being miniature adults, we had two such children today at Quest, ages four and eight, two beautiful little girls. Their mother dropped them off, and she was all dressed to go out; high heels, dressed to kill, makeup and all. These children came for ballet class, and in the process of class the zipper broke on the 4-year-old's dress.

As we were running around going through our emergency clothing stash, I saw a most distressing sight. This beautiful little girl had a hernia the size and shape of a large Dixie cup. About four or five inches around and protruding at least six inches. It was flat like a little table at the end and hard as a stone.

This is the kind of thing you see in an ad for children in Africa or South America - you know, adopt this child for $10 a month, or help pay for medical attention for this baby. We pay some money, assuage our guilt and go on with our life. But this is here, Schenectady, your town. How can this happen?

How can we go to church or synagogue or even call ourselves good people and walk away from things like this. This is a child, a child clinging to me and trusting that I will help her. Sure, we found her a dress, sure we fed her, sure we took her home and found someone to take her in (Mom wasn't even home), but really, just what what did we do?

I can't even take this child home with me without her parent's permission. What has happened to the rights of children, the promise of a safe and reasonably comfortable life? Doesn't this little girl deserve to be loved?

I read in the paper, again, that Metroplex gave $400,000 more to the Big House so they could finish building their bar and office complex at some as yet unnamed time in the future. This is $400,000 more. More than all the thousands they had already received from the city of Schenectady.

And yet, there are still problems with medical care for our children. Shame, I say, shame. Shame on everyone who turns their back on poverty and disease and neglect. Why should a little girl go without so we can build yet another bar in the fair city of Schenectady? And no, this is not apples and oranges we're talking about, it's money. And if there is only so much of it to spare, don't you think we need to prioritize a little better?

If Quest closes, where is this little girl and all those other children we try so hard to service going to go? And still, with all we do, we are barely a ripple in the vast lake of misery these children live in.

Two years ago I brought a good friend of mine, Olga Kostrizsy, from Odessa, Russia, to Hamilton Hill on a walking tour. Olga has been through hard times, coming to the U.S. in her twenties and working for the New York City Ballet. She now teaches ballet full time for the School of American Ballet, the flagship school for the New York City Ballet, the finest ballet company in the country.

Last week, we were talking and she was telling members of the company about her excursion into the "Hill." And then she said, "The children, oh, the children, they have no way out, they are doomed, doomed forever to live their live in this terrible place." And this from a woman 60 years of age who grew up in great poverty in Russia. "And think this is a place just half an hour away." she said.

Perhaps we need to see our home through another's eyes to really see. Olga brought with her on that day a famous artist and watercolorist, also from Russia, who took photographs, which he later turned into fine art that is now hanging in major museums around the world.

Is this the picture we really want to present to other people? While we are patting ourselves on the back about downtown, a few blocks away, just up the hill, children run around with not enough to eat and medical deformities and suffer from unbelievable neglect. This makes the argument about the roundabout on Erie Boulevard seem pretty insignificant.

In yet another newspaper article (I am a compulsive reader), I read about volunteers and percentages and numbers. A major polling firm did a study on volunteer commitment, throughout every state, 51 different entities (Washington, D.C., is considered it's own territory) and gee golly whiz, guess which state came up 49th? Bingo, advance to Go and collect $200. New York, our home state, was No. 49! Approximately 19.7% of all New Yorkers do volunteer work, whether it be for their children's school or church or whatever. That's it, 19.7%

The highest percentage of volunteerism was about 77%, with the average percentage being about 62%. The dead last state was Hawaii.

So there we are in a city with no money and not an appreciable hope of getting more, saddled with poverty, teen pregnancy, juvenile crime, teen prostitution and youth homelessness. What to do? The answer is at the end of your arm. Give a hand. Better yet, give two, and bring a friend along or even a relative or two. The only way out of this hole is to look up and climb out.

TOGETHER!!!

QUEST is a community-based organization that provides a safe environment, free meals, counseling, art and recreation programs that keep Hamilton Hill children in school, out of trouble and on track for better lives. For more information on QUEST, visit www.questkids.net.