2009 In Review - EYC Summer Events

Continuing from the end of 2009, I'll be posting some articles that were written over the past 12 months about the events and accomplishments of the EYC last year. I hope to post them in chronological order just to show all the awesome things youth have done down here at the centre.

The following was originally printed in the Essex Voice and Essex Free Press back in August:


EYC Winds Down A Busy Summer
By Marc Rocheleau

From visiting Cedar Point to Toronto, Essex Youth Centre (EYC) has had a busy summer.

During vacation, the centre organized several events for youth. The biggest was a weekend trip to Toronto on Friday, August 14. Attracting 14 members and staff, they left at 10:00 a.m. and had a great time.

“I found that this year was a lot different,” said 18-year-oldJasmine Wood, who also went to Toronto with EYC last year. “Both [trips] were fun, but this time I had a lot more friends with me and I got to really see Toronto.”

In addition to the weekend, members went on several outings between July and August. A scavenger hunt was held in Windsor, they ventured to laser tag, Cedar Point, the beach, Warped tour in Detroit and paintballing: EYC had several goals for activities they planned.

“There were many goals when organizing events for this year’s summer program,” said event coordinator, Steve Dale. “we wanted to do all the things that the youth proposed to us …Another goal was to get these youths off their butts and get them active.“

Giving back to the community was also a priority for EYC and its members. A group of youth took part in Helping Hands – a program where students assist seniors and disabled people with work around the house. In order to pay for trips, many also volunteered at fundraisers, including Running Of The Balls and several car washes or BBQs in town, to earn their way.

“We wanted to make the majority of these trips affordable, if not entirely free,” said Dale. “This was particularly done by having youth volunteer at several fundraising events where they helped raise money and earned the chance to go on any trip they liked.”

A final LAN party was held on Friday, August 21, before the centre closed for the last two weeks of summer vacation. As staff plan for the fall, members are still talking about July and August though and enjoyed their time at EYC.

“I went to warped tour, did running of the balls, car wash, laser tag, beach day and Toronto,” said Wood. “I liked [the events,] they were different from last year and got the youth out a lot more.”