View Snapshots From Our Grand Opening

Onalaska Community Youth Center

"Building Today The Families Of Tomorrow"

A BIG thank you to Hampton and Affiliates of Morton and Randle for donating enough to keep our rent and utilities paid so we can be an important part of the Lewis County Community.

A letter from our Director

We have had an incredible beginning at the OCYC.  On opening day, in our first hour—we signed up over 150 kids—and throughout the rest of the day—we finished up at almost 250 members.  As the days passed—our plan of creating relationships with the kids that use our facility was working very well.  We had no desire to get to involved with “large” events—we were more interested in building foundational relationships within our community—and we continue to do that. 

In our first 5 months, we have learned a lot about being able to operate a Community center effectively.We have encountered common struggles that non-profits go through—lack of funding, lack of volunteers, and lack of support.  Now that we have been able to establish ourselves in the community, we have used the OCYC for its everyday use, meetings, birthday parties, soccer parties, etc.  Our community support is rising, and we are getting regular volunteers on a regular basis.As of October 1, 2007, the OCYC was able to expand its facility by almost 40% with the move of Cornerstone Media.  We now have a separate meeting/tutoring space upstairs, our computers, big screen, and other electronics are on one side of the center, while the large games like pool, foosball, and ping pong are on the other side. 

Our counselor, Larry Meade, was able to build himself a nice office for counseling right in the middle of the center.  Our thanks to him and his wife Wanda for seeing the need for the privacy of his clients, and being able to provide his own building materials and time to complete the project.  Wanda has also joined our OCYC staff in assisting Larry in setting appointments, but also in overseeing day to day operations.  We are so appreciative of their support financially and with their time and efforts in helping to provide services to our community.  

On September 25, the OCYC received it non-profit tax ID number from the IRS.  This has been a huge blessing for us, as we are now able to apply for grants and assistance from outside agencies.  Obviously, these grants will also take time, so we are continuing with fundraising and asking our community and corporate partners to keep up their support.I would also like to take the opportunity to thank all of those people in our community that help us by volunteering.  As we only have two paid staff members, it takes a lot of time from our community members to make all of this possible.  With the help of these volunteers, we are not only able to operate the OCYC, but we are also able to do things like our spaghetti feed and Halloween party, which were both great successes.

Most of all, I would like to thank God for His provision and presence in our lives.  We do not have to have a cross on the roof or a stained glass window to know that without Him, none of this would have been possible.  Our staff and members are able to make positive choices each day with support and encouragement that they may not have had.  We pray that you will continue to stay tuned to our updates—pray for us—and if you feel led to—support us with your time and/or money.

Cornerstone Foundation For Living

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