Written By Jan Sims
KOMOKA - The Komoka Youth Centre is now up and running. Located in the Komoka Community Centre, the new centre offers drop-in programs for young people on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
It’s a cooperative venture involving the Municipality of Middlesex Centre and the Middlesex Centre YMCA. Both drop-in and specialized programs will be offered.
“Our initial plan is to use the first month to engage with the youth and better understand their preferences for future programming. We aim to broaden our programming to include sport-specific drop-ins, arts initiatives, and Leadership in Training programs, which will equip local youth with valuable volunteer opportunities,” says Soyuth Sok, VP Health, Fitness and Aquatics with the YMCA Southwestern Ontario.
The programs are offered free of charge for young people aged nine to seventeen. Youth under 10 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Although it’s early days, the YMCA is looking ahead to similar offerings. “We aim to expand programs and services modeled on the successful offerings at the Komoka Youth Centre, across the communities we serve. As a charity, we strive to ignite growth and belonging for people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and abilities and are dedicated to providing access to programs like this,” says Sok.
