Ben Dillard is putting the wheels in motion — literally — on an idea that could become unlike anything of its kind in the area.

The Carroll County Parks and Recreation director recently unveiled plans for an after-school program to cater to the area’s youth, where participants would be picked up from schools and bussed to the recreation department.

From there, the children would complete their homework and then have the option to enroll in private skill instructions for football, soccer, track, baseball, softball or basketball. If sports isn’t your thing, you can sign up for drama, singing or art.

The program, which costs just $35, is something that took a lot of things to come together at once, according to Dillard.

“The first thing was that the middle school started asking if there was anything we could do because they don’t have an after-school program,” Dillard said.

“There’s hundreds of (middle-schoolers) just hanging around waiting for something to do and some place to go. That’s the age when kids can start going down the wrong road, too.”

The program, which will begin in early August when school is back in session, will also help take some of the stress off parents, as they won’t have to sit at the park until late in the evening at ball practice. Plus, when the children get home, all their homework is done, and practices are over.

“You can go home and spend time with your family, so it’s going to help develop that,” Dillard said.

And while sports will likely be a big attraction for many of the participants, Dillard wanted to have several other options for children not interested in sports, such as art and drama.

“We want to make it a process where we’re not just baby-sitting kids,” Dillard said. “They’re doing something that they enjoy, getting better at what they do and teaching them life lessons at the same time.

“It’s a place where all the stress is gone in people’s lives. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, what race you are, you can just come together and be positive.”

Dillard noted with so many broken families and children being born out of wedlock nowadays, he wanted to provide a positive atmosphere and help steer the area’s youth down the right path.

“So we’ve got a lot of kids growing up that don’t have any direction,” Dillard said. “They don’t have a lot to do. So I just feel like we have the opportunity to be that glue for society.

“Kids are an investment in our future. You just don’t know what kind of impact you’re going to have on somebody 8 or 12 until they’re a grown man or woman and you see what kind of person they turn out to be.”

Another dynamic Dillard would like to see change is what he calls “walls around the local communities,” noting he would like to reach the point where children from all schools participate in the program.

“Bowdon, Villa Rica, Carrollton. It’s, you know, ‘We wear these colors. You guys wear these colors and those colors,’” Dillard said. “To me, if you point out differences, you know, if you wear black and gold, then you’re different than somebody that wears maroon and grey. It’s the same as racism. It’s no different than making differences because you’re black and you’re white...It is racism. You’re trying to divide people because of what school colors they’re wearing. It’s just ridiculous.

“I don’t care where kids go to high school. If they come here and enjoy what we do, we’re not trying to capture them to Central or steer them a different way. We’re the feeder program for Central. But when it comes to a program and doing things for kids, it shouldn’t matter.”

If the after-school program becomes a success, Dillard wants to branch out with other recreation departments and help implement it there, as well.

“The opportunity is there,” Dillard said. “The amount of public input I’ve had, I think it’s a great idea.”