Winter is always a mixed blessing for us. Membership visits go up and so does the expenses. Food, gas, broken pipes, water all seem to climb. The trade off is of course is we see more members come hang out with us since the temperature plummets and the hot meals increase. We would like to thank all our food donors that keep the kids fed as well. We are still using the wonderful beef donated by Jack and Claudia Rosenbaum and all the left overs from Loaves and Fishes Thursday meals.
We love creating gourmet delights for our kids. They are always thankful and willing to try all sorts of stuff.
Our Martin Luther King, Jr. skate and play day was our 4th annual and we raised $500 for United Way which supports the Youth Center. With kids out of school for the holiday parents enjoy dropping off their children to stay for breakfast and lunch and do all sorts of activities which include recognizing what peaceful messages Martin Luther King, Jr. gave to us to incorporate into our daily lives. The participants signed our Martin Luther King Jr. Mural done by artist Soledad Leo back when she was an AmeriCorps member with us.
The other new activity we started was Girl Talk for 5th and 6th grade girls. We meet with high school mentor/volunteers at the middle school on Mondays after school and follow the Girl Talk curriculum. The leaders are amazing and have captured the essence of mentoring each week with the girls having no problem opening up with questions and concerns they face being tweens.
The next co sponsored event we will start will take place on Wednesdays after school at the River Pointe Cafe called Coffee Shop Church. 7th and 8th graders interested in asking questions regarding spirituality, faith, religion or the what if’s that they can’t seem to find a venue that is not threatening to them. Peer to Peer conversations, kids that go to church or not are all welcome to start the conversation. Area clergy are willing to participate to share different views with the kids.
And last but not least our new Ready for Work class! Yes we are aiming to prepare our members to get a good job and keep it! Yes businesses we will support the need to educate, train a workforce that is young and ready to work. From looking for a job, applying, interviewing, dressing, understanding customer service and keeping that great job when they get it is the goal of this class. Area business associates as well as SWAP and the school to work program will assist in getting the right message out to our kids. This class will be open for 13-16 year olds.
Well, that is the winter update from us. We hope to have some of our members jump on in the future with articles or ideas making their after school experience a positive one. Call to volunteer, donate or offer ideas for our kids. This is a community that cares about our kids.
Pagosa Springs Youth Center 
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