While making an impact in the lives of local children and families, the Youth Center in Los Alamitos will be kicking off their 18th Annual Community Support Campaign on March 31, where more than 100 volunteers come together for a month to raise $125,000 for this year.
“This is how we survive,” said Youth Center Office Manager Julie Rubin. “We are having the campaign since we are a non-profit and receive no governmental assistance.”
While making an impact in the lives of local children and families, the Youth Center in Los Alamitos will be kicking off their 18th Annual Community Support Campaign on March 31, where more than 100 volunteers come together for a month to raise $125,000 for this year.
“This is how we survive,” said Youth Center Office Manager Julie Rubin. “We are having the campaign since we are a non-profit and receive no governmental assistance.”
The Youth Center provides the community with programs such as the After School Program, the Music Program, the Leadership Academy, their drunk driving determent program “Every 15 Minutes,” as well as for Summer and Teen Camps. Since 1952, they have been making tangible differences in the lives of the local community children and families.
“We are like a place that is a home to many participants of the After School Program, offered at no cost to parents,” said Youth Center Executive Director Lina Lumme. “Parents are encouraged to volunteer and/or donate $5 to $25 a month to help us provide better school supplies, sports equipment and games.” Many parents are thankful for the value the Youth Center brings them, and have given back more than 140 volunteer hours since September to present date.
“With the average day care costing parents approximately $400 a month, more than $3,000 is saved a year,” said Lumme. “We do this all the while the kids are creating fun memories of their childhoods through the age of 18 years old. We want to lead the kids on a very successful path for their futures.”
One such child was Marquis Knowles who once attended the Youth Center. As an adult now he returns periodically to the Youth Center because it’s where his happiest childhood memories came from. “Because of the support we gave Marquis, he is now working with kids as a result of the impact we made upon him,” said Lumme. “For him and many kids, we are a second home.”
The Youth Center makes shy kids believe in themselves, and helps average income families to succeed, according to Rubin. “Yes, we have families in need, but a lot of our families are middle class according to our records,” she said.
The families are helped to succeed financially through scholarships the Youth Center offers, and through programs whose prices haven’t gone up in years. For example, their Music Program hasn’t been raised in price since 2005 for more than 10 years, and their Summer Camp hasn’t been raised since 2010 along with the Teen Camp fees not being raised since 2006.
“This goes to show that the Youth Center isn’t about money,” said Lumme. “We are about supporting the families and making a difference in our communities.” Rubin continued to say that even with the recent minimum wage increase last year that the Youth Center is dedicated to keeping costs down for families.
“By helping the family we are not only giving fun memories to a child for one summer, we are helping to contribute to a family’s financial well-being and stability,” said Rubin.
According to Lumme, the Youth Center provides affordable, quality programs that continue to improve year after year. She said that the staff works hard to create a unique, original program and creates a place where kids make friendships for a lifetime.
“If we weren’t here, the kids might not have their friendships or embark on a successful path in the future,” said Lumme.
“Many of the staff and volunteers once came here as children,” said Rubin. “It takes a village to raise a child. It’s the entire community who contribute to the children’s success later in life.”
Last year’s Youth Center Community Support Campaign was led by Los Alamitos Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Sherri Kropp, who said, “I believe that a community should give resources to groups that benefit young people, which ultimately benefit all of society. When our local youth are thriving, the community is thriving. Students need to be actively engaged in healthy, positive activities with adult supervision to maximize their young lives. One of the strengths of Los Alamitos is that organizations band together to help people in need of a variety of resources.”
For their 18th Annual Community Support Campaign, every dollar matters. The Youth Center truly appreciates all their donors, and hopes to make the 2015 campaign a success in supporting local families and children. If you are interested in campaigning or donating, please contact Youth Center Executive Director Lina Lumme or Office Manager Julie Rubin at 562-493-4043.