YMCA does the right
thing: opens Youth Center near Junior High Schools.
When the current YMCA
building was built in the 1970s on Carl Sandburg Drive in Northwest Galesburg,
there was criticism that it was not more centrally located. There were good
arguments for that, but also good ones for locating in a new building with room
to expand, which the ÒYÓ has done this year.
Answering the need for a more
central location, constructive after school activity and help for junior high
students, the Y has just opened a Youth Center at 850 Mulberry St. This is not
a sitter service. Programs offered from 3 to 7 p.m. on school days, run the
gamut from a computer lab to a pottery wheel, help with homework, sports,
martial arts, open gym time and life skills development. ItÕs a place to be
safe, have fun and snacks, and make friends. The Youth Center is a half-mile
from Lombard Junior High and two and a half miles from Churchill - easy walking
for young people, but transportation from school can be provided.
Jamie Eager, program director
at the Y, says that when the old Lombard College gym was to be demolished,
board and staff members wondered if the building could be a youth center. They
had a grant opportunity to fund the project from the Illinois Department of
Human Services. Eager and B.J. Wilken, former program director, produced a 19
page, detailed grant application in March and learned in July they have been
awarded $70,000.
YMCA personnel had also
decided the Lombard gym was too old for renovation. In a conversation with
Regional Superintendent of Schools, Bonnie Harris, Harris suggested to Eager
that the Y approach Reverend Lewis Woods of the Illinois Baptist College for a
location. He was very receptive and has been wonderful to offer their
facilities, said Eager. She said the schools and community agencies have been
cooperative. Agencies include the Knox County Health Department, Bridgeway
Prevention, and University of Illinois Extension Service. Other community
agencies are welcome to become involved, she said.
After only three weeks,
sixteen youth are enrolled at the Center. Y staff members, Aaron Duke, Tim
Greene and Live Weimers are on hand every day. To participate, a family must go
to the YMCA and fill out an application, sign numerous forms and pay a one-time
fee of $25 for the whole school year. If the fee is prohibitive, the Y can help
qualified students. Any Junior High student in the county can apply, but
transportation from other communities canÕt be provided.
In addition to her gratitude
for the help of Bonnie Harris and Reverend Woods, Eager praised the newly
formed Knox County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition for providing much of
the data for the grant application. The groupÕs board of directors includes representatives
from agencies in the community, including Ms. Eager, who deal with drug issues.
ÒThere are only 122 agencies
in Illinois who have received this grant,Ó said Ms. Eager, Ò and Galesburg was
one of only 22 new agencies to be awarded grant funds this year.Ó
What a valuable service this
is to the community. The Y should be commended and supported for their
creativity and ability to provide valuable services for Junior High youth and
their families.
Caroline Porter is a
freelance writer from Galesburg, who can be reached at cporter@galesburg.net. Other columns
are online at www.thezephyr.com.