Good 4 You: South Florida Community Gains From Clipping Coupons

MIAMI (CBS4) - A new program designed to help save kids from a life on the streets is getting an unusual boost thanks to people looking for savings.

This weekend, your local newspaper will give you a chance to not only save money on some of your favorite products but also give you a chance to keep a child from getting into trouble.

"It is better than staying home," said Simone Green,10, about the summer program she is enrolled in now in Miami.

Sure, it's entertaining, but for Green the other kids in this program have become her family.

"They are really nice to me. I have a lot of friends," said Green to CBS4's Jorge Estevez.

Green's friends are busy using their minds as part of the "Community in Schools" after school and summer programs where hundreds gather to develop skills that will help them break the cycle.

"There is a lot of gang violence. There are drive- by shootings. It is not exactly a safe neighborhood," said Elizabeth Mejia, Executive Director of "Community in Schools" Miami, referring to Liberty City – the area where the center is located.

Inside the walls of the center the kids are safe, but that costs up to a thousand dollars a year per kid. The program's main focus is to teach them the importance of staying in school and reducing the drop-out rate.

"We believe it is the biggest crisis in America. We are all paying the price for every student we lose," said Mejia.

In fact, numbers show that it costs a community $260,000 for each student who doesn't graduate in future lost tax revenue and potential earnings. And while they may not know it now, these kids need this kind of support because without it, their lives would be different.

"Boring, lonely and really sad," said Green.

If you would like to help, look for the Proctor and Gamble Brand Saver in this weekend's newspaper and for every coupon you clip and use "Community in Schools" in South Florida and around the country will get 2 cents to help out the kids.