This year, a little non-profit in Calaveras County is celebrating a big milestone. The Blue Mountain Coalition for Youth and Families marks thirty years of providing a safe space for kids in the small rural town of West Point. Still known to many as the “Youth Center”, BMCYF was founded in 1994 by a couple of parents trying to create something positive for their teenagers to do after school, in a town with no where else for kids to go.
Suzanne Smith, a founding member and former director of the organization recalls her early days in West Point,
“What I remember is moving to West Point with a 12 year old daughter and very soon discovered there was very little for kids her age to do. I met another mom, Kathy Hess who had a daughter the same age and felt the same way. This was in 1991. The youth center started with two very optimistic, naive moms. Soon afterwards Joyce Arnan joined our group. We started out throwing dances at the Community Hall. The Lion’s Club let us use the hall for free and the VFW gave us money to buy snacks. One of the kids would be the DJ. These dances were very popular and well attended. Next we decided it would be fun to have outdoor movies at the field that was in front of the school at the time. Ace hardware donated the lumber and the office of ED donated a projector and the local video store donated the videos. Families came down and spread a blanket and had a picnic before the movie. Some played basketball while others brought instruments and played before the movie. It is hard to believe we had this level of support before we were an established non-profit organization. I think this is why BMCYF is still here. The reason it was created and still exists is because of the wonderful people in the West Point community.”
It is that support from the community and the undaunted optimism of parents like those that started the Youth Center that created the lasting legacy of the Blue Mountain Coalition. In 2000 Suzanne took a long shot and wrote a grant to the California Youth Authority. That grant enabled to group to purchase the old hardware store at 364 Main Street. Then a group of board members and volunteers began the task of updating and expanding the building.
Catherine Lambie, who was the Director and BMCYF until 2019 remembers,
“When I think back about my almost 20 years of involvement with the BMCYF as co-director with Mark Dyken, and then director, the word that comes to my mind is often “Teamagic”...A word coined by Ted Toren, who led a few of us through the transformational experience of many Saturdays for over 2 years to build an extension of the original building housing our center… That set the tone for what the center would be: a beautiful, safe, inclusive and inviting community space, where everyone would be truly welcome and supported.”
Today, the Blue Mountain Coalition for Youth and Families is home to a second generation of youth. The children of teens who played basketball and came to movies at the “Youth Center” are now engaged in after school activities and teen leadership programs at the Blue Mountain Center. Pictures of their parents, aunties and uncles line the walls of the community space that was built by volunteers over those two years of Saturdays.
Jillian Salvitti, who grew up at the center during the tenure of Catherine Lambie wrote to us.
“The BMCYF was more than a second home to me, it was a sanctuary. I owe a big part of who I am today to the staff and community at the BMCYF. They taught me how to keep a positive outlook on life, how to respect myself, nurtured my growing creativity and ambition, and always gave me a safe space to be, well, me! They were there through some of the best and worst times of my life, never failing to remind me of my worth and believing in me even when I didn't. They guided me on the right path and were always there to help me stay on it when things got tough. The best part about the BMCYF is that they accept EVERYONE. All ages, all ethnicities, all genders, all social backgrounds, and all economic backgrounds, and all religions. They nurture the idea that the strongest part of a community is its people; and people are stronger together.”
Thanks to the strength of community in West Point and the “Teamagic” of people working together, the Blue Mountain Coalition for Youth and Families is still here and is growing. Thirty years after those motivated moms started offering free dances at the town hall, BMCYF is an established non-profit that operates a Community Center on Main Street open five days per week.
This year the Blue Mountain Center will provide a safe space and positive activities to more than eighty kids, from babies in the First 5 Playgroup, to busy kids making art and playing games in the After School Group to teenagers finding their own voice and path in the Lead Up Teen Group. In 2024, the Blue Mountain Coalition will serve 4,000 free community dinners, a program started by Catherine Lambie and Mark Dyken on September 11th 2001, and carried on for more than 20 years. Other programs include: monthly senior brunches, yoga classes, and now, the West Point Farmers Market.
The current Executive Director, Terra Forgette is proud to carry on the legacy of Teamagic. “My goal is to honor the work of parents who founded and built the organization by making sure that the Blue Mountain Coalition is here to provide space for the next generation of families and whatever makes their lives better.”
To become part of the Teamagic that drives the Blue Mountain Coalition, volunteer, donate or connect at bmcyf.org, terra.bmcyf@gmail.com or 209 293 4500.
