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The BMCYF will begin hosting Sunday Brunches again this month.  We are excited to announce our first community brunch on Sunday January 24th from 11am to 1pm at the Blue Mountain Coalition’s Main Street Center.  A donation of $5 per person is suggested; all proceeds go directly back into our youth programs.

The Youth Server Program was such a hit with the kids last year that everyone wants to do it again.  This year youth will help in the kitchen preparing food, in addition to waiting on tables.  Kayla and Colton will help Gloria make pancakes with a variety of toppings and side dishes.  Estella, Samantha, Shanae, Lorrie, Nicole, Jillian, and James cannot wait to get service started.  Juanita, Program Coordinator, is in the process of gathering contributions from local grocers.  Please put our Sunday Brunch on your calendar and bring your friends and family to enjoy a community meal at the BMCYF.

Filed under: Uncategorized on January 12th, 2010 | No Comments »

Despite cool weather and  storm clouds in the sky, the BMCYF Family Fun Day was well attended and everyone had a good time. Families painted clay tiles to be fired and used in our community garden. Many awards were given to parents, kids and volunteers. But the highlight of the day were the performances given on our outdoor stage. First, several youngsters gave the first showing of a play they wrote, inspired by the MiWuk myth of the mermaid. The kids created their own masks during a two day workshop with resident artist Sharon Strong; then, with staff person Juanita Gearhart’s expert help, they made costumes . Finally they put together a script, narrated by staff person Gloria Rousseau. The play was a big hit. Next, students of Nedra Russ, a community volunteer who teaches voice lessons at the center on Monday afternoons, sang their own songs. Their stage presence and powerful voices were impressive. The evening ended with some great dancing music by local band Alma Melodiosa, while people enjoyed the wonderful food prepared by Gloria.

Filed under: Uncategorized on June 16th, 2009 | No Comments »

Come and join us at the BMCYF Center for an afternoon of fun, music, family activities and great food! Kids from the Writers’Workshop will read some of their writings, others from the Monday Afternoon Voice Lesson Class will sing their original compositions,  the mask makers of Sharon Strong’s latest workshop at BMCYF will enact “The Mermaid Story” on our outdoor stage, and Terra and Juanita will hold a graduation ceremony for all the successful participants of our Youth Program…There will be a fun clay workshop with Liz, lots of gardening both at our Center and at the Green House Community Garden on Spink Road, storytelling by Catherine,  awards galore, and great food prepared as always by Gloria…Music will be provided by local band Alma Melodiosa, so bring your dancing shoes!!Let us celebrate our wonderful children and families. The event is alcohol and tobacco free. Saturday June ,1 to 7PM, at the BMCYF Center, 364 Main Street West Point. For more info please call 293-4500.

Filed under: Uncategorized on June 1st, 2009 | No Comments »

On April 23, 24 and 25, BMCYF hosted the 2009 Peace Storming of the Living Compassion Zen Monastery of Murphys. What is a Peace Storming ? To quote from the Living Compassion website (livingcompassion.org ): “it is a concentrated version of the experience we know so well through life at the monastery; that working together, being of service, meeting needs in ways that are beautiful and useful, creates peace and deep connection within us and among us”.So the folks at Living Compassion connect with a community or an organisation that identifies something they would like to accomplish, but could use help with. This year, we at BMCYF were fortunate enough to be the chosen organisation ! So for three wonderful days, sixteen monks and ” monks in training”  as well as BMCYF board members and staff, community members ,kids and families, came together joyfully to tackle with a variety of tasks. Eight raised beds were built and filled with soil and manure in our new community garden on Spink Road, our existing garden at the Center was weeded, cleaned, fertilized and planted, the steps to our garden were rebuilt, our land was cleared and brush was dragged away and stacked, the front of our building was repainted, building materials were sorted and organized neatly, the treacherous steps to our office on Spink Road were rebuilt…Staff member Kay Rousseau and cook extraordinaire kept everybody going with her fabulous lunches and dinners, served in our Center. We shared information about what we do, the monks learnt about the many activities of BMCYF and we got inspired by the amazing work Living Compassion does in Africa…Ideas of possible future collaborations were exchanged, friendships developed, it was a very fruitful and energizing time for all present.Some of our families involved in a garden project with staff person Liz Bonner participated in the work, and got to plant their first garden as a family…We are very thankful for this uplifting and productive experience, we are planning to visit the monastery very soon and are looking forward to further partnership with our new friends…

Filed under: Community, Events, Projects on May 5th, 2009 | No Comments »

Filed under: Uncategorized on April 23rd, 2009 | No Comments »

Come and enjoy a delicious lunch prepared by volunteer guest chefs Maryann and Marilyn! The menu is :

Hearty Minestrone Soup or Roasted Winter Squash Soup

Garden Salad and Garlic Bread

Ice Cream with Wild Blackberry Topping.

The cost of the lunch is 8 dollars per person. Weather permitting, lunch will be served outside on our patio as well as in our comfortable center by our team of Youth Servers. They have been practicing their serving skills at our Sunday Brunch for the past four months, and this is the final showcase of their youth service project. Thank you for supporting them, they have done an outstanding job. For more info, please call Terra or Juanita at 293-4500.

Filed under: Events, Kids, Projects on April 13th, 2009 | No Comments »

For more information about Cheri, please visit http://www.cherihuber.com.

Filed under: Community, Events on March 22nd, 2009 | No Comments »

There is a lot going on at BMCYF these days, and we are often so busy that we neglect this website…So I will give an update. Almost the entire staff ( we really missed you Juanita, no skipping out next time !!!) plus resident artist Sharon Strong just spent a fruitful and energizing weekend in San Francisco. We strategized, evaluated, debated, dreamt together, laughed, danced and shared, and got inspired by places we visited. We came back a better team, full of renewed energy and focus for the work ahead. We are now planning a road trip together for our next retreat …

At the center, there are  many wonderful activities going on : a very creative Writers’ Group led by Linda Toren is preparing a small anthology, volunteer Ron Schierholt offer music lessons every Tuesday and encourages song writing , we have just hooked up our new kiln and the pottery studio is very busy under Liz’s expert guidance. Friday nights are Teens Only nights, and Terra has many fun activities planned. Spring Break is coming, and we will be offering some special workshops to the kids: there will be a Storytelling and Music event with Lyn Harema and Lois Lewis for our toddlers, a mending worshop, a two-day clay workshop with visiting artist Rodney Mott and a special mask making workshop with Sharon Strong, retelling a MiWok myth. Check our calendar or call 293-4500 for specifics. Don’t miss out, all workshops are free…

Our center has been closed to the youth on Wednesdays to facilitate services and groups for adults and families. A Women’s Tea meets once a month and often has speakers;and a new, grassroots group has recently formed, ECHO ( Ex-Convicts Having Opportunities) . This is a support group for families of prisoners as well as for young people on probation or parole that have returned to our community and often are isolated and feel little hope for their future. The group plans to work both with the probation and parole departments. We have started working on our new gardening project ( funded by First5) that will partner some of our families and their children with a master gardener of our community. With the gardener’s guidance and help, the families will plant their own garden on our Green House property. We will emphasize healthy eating, outdoor time for children and families,and strenghtening community ties. We are also getting ready to plant flowers in our youth center garden. And lastly, we are very excited to announce our partnership with the Living Compassion Monastery of Murphys; on April 23, 24 and 25 we will host a gathering of monks and supporters and together we will  build a couple of earth ovens for our youth center and our community garden. We are planning camp fires for the community each of these nights, with music and storytelling . More on that very soon.

We are expecting the arrival of respected grant writer Harvey Chess on Wednesday; Harvey will be working with us for the next three months, helping us with our funding and a variety of other things. We are very thankful for this help and are very much looking forward to this support.

We welcome visitors, anytime is a good time, come for dinner on a Tuesday or Thursday ( Kay Rousseau is in charge of our meals and does a wonderful job ), you might be inspired to volunteer with us or to become a financial supporter of BMCYF …Come check us out…

Filed under: Community, Events, Kids, Projects on March 16th, 2009 | No Comments »

There is so  much going on at the youth center it’s hard to know where to begin.  The Green House Project, the launch of what we hope to be a self-sustaining business, radio station, teen pregnancy prevention, service learning, nutrition & health, community dinners, organic gardens, first 5, ceramics, mask making, art of all kinds, music, support groups …a staff that for profit and non-profit organizations would kill for.  Did you know?  Have I peeked your interest?  Come to the center and find out how we can make our community better together.  After all, the way I see it, when the mills shut down in the late 90s that was the start of our economic melt down so we have a 10 year start on how to deal with becoming more self-sustaining.  Lets share that experience and move forward.

Filed under: Community on March 13th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Easy parking, relaxed atmosphere, good food and good service.  This combination makes for another great Youth Center Sunday Brunch success.  Fine weather combined to bring the community out in support of this BMCY&F service learning program.  The young people involved take this opportunity very seriously and it shows.  There is hustle, mistakes are quickly fixed and the operations goes on smoothly.  Our cap is tiped to the great staff who makes it happen with a “the show must go on” attitude and to the kids dedication and friendly work ethic.  We had fun!  Thanks to everyone for their generous donations and we look forward to seeing you at our next brunch!  Don’t forget the Tuesday and Thursday community dinners at the center as well.

Filed under: Community, Kids, Projects on January 12th, 2009 | No Comments »