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NEWS RELEASE

SAULT FAMILY YMCA

*************************** Sault Family YMCA seeks invaluable feedback from local youth for potential Youth Leisure Centre

The Sault Family YMCA encourages youth to connect with their community and generate ideas for proposed Youth Leisure Centre

The Sault Family YMCA announced today that it is energetically seeking community feedback, predominantly from youth between the ages of 12 and 17, for a prospective Youth Leisure Centre to be located within the Sault Family YMCA building at 235 McNabb Street.

“We have a large facility, with lots of space, equipment and amenities. Although we are also aware that our community no longer has a teen centre, and are looking for ideas concerning the redevelopment of some of our existing space, or the opportunity to provide new equipment or activities that youth would like to see implemented,” said Martin Wyant, chief executive officer of the Sault Family YMCA.

In conversations and tours with other YMCAs in Canada, Wyant has learned that a Youth Centre can be as simple as a safe place for young people to hang out, to more advanced organizations that provide structured programs and services.

The most important consideration, according to Wyant, is that youth are involved in the development, operating and governance of the centre.

It is important to note that a new centre does not have to focus on fitness or sports, says Wyant.

“We have no preconceived ideas regarding what a centre should look like, the types of activities or services that it should have, its hours of operation or how it will be run. The centre could have equipment or amenities that focus on music, technology or gaming. At this point, we have a white board and a marker. We are looking for young people to help us start to fill up the white board with their ideas.”

Interested youth are asked to visit the Sault Family YMCA website or the Fresh Magazine website, select the “Have Your Say on a Youth Leisure Centre” link, and provide us with your thoughts.

“Youth need to have a stake in this idea if it is going to succeed. I am personally inviting all youth in our community to tell us what they would like to see. Once we receive a minimum of 200 responses from youth in our community, we will gather and analyze the information and organize a meeting to share the results with interested members of our community and discuss subsequent steps.”

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