Mississippi Mills YOUTH Centre is so great AND so grateful
The new Mississippi Mills Youth Centre is thriving! As we settle into our new digs at 134 Main Street in Almonte we have a lot to celebrate.
We have 136 youth who have registered with MMYC, and new permanent staff, including Manager Janet Morrison and Program Coordinator Kaila McCormick along with Youth workers Matt Healey and Keenan Tanti.
What else is new and great?
New youth programs & events
- Family Night – games, activities, and healthy snacks
- PA Day Drop-in Activities
- Comic Art & Mural program – a Dare to Dream program led by Matt McKay
- Ukes for Youth – free lessons
- Crock-Pot Cooking Class
- Sports in the Park
- Gardening
- Summer Day Camp – registration is open for youth 10 – 18
New community programs
- Adopt a Road with Lanark County. We have adopted the County Road 16, as it comes through Almonte (Perth, Bridge, Queen, Martin) from Hwy 29 to Blakeney Road
- Community Gardens with the Neighbourhood Tomato and Lanark County Food Bank. We will tend to the gardens and food will be used at the Centre, in the community as needed, and donated to the Lanark County Food Bank – Hunger Stop
And on top of all the great stuff in the Centre, we are incredibly grateful for the community support we have received. People, organizations, and businesses have stepped in because they want the Centre and our youth to succeed!
New volunteers
- Sandy Labelle in the Centre, and Ashley Killeen, Mya Keffer, Dustin Garron on the Board
New partners
- Neighbourhood Tomato – in case you have not noticed the new Community Gardens in our front yard
- YAK (Perth Youth Centre) with Canada Summer Jobs and Summer Experience Program will allow us to hire 3 summer students to assist with the delivery of our Summer Day Camp and summer drop-in programs
- Mississippi Mills Musicworks will be providing ukulele lessons at the Centre
- Frontline Excavation is clearing the backyard so we have extra outdoor programming space behind the building
- Ultramar CST will be providing some people for a day of helping the Centre
- Blackburn Garage allows us to use their parking lot when we need it!
New donors
- Neighbourhood Tomato – donations of materials for garden and cash collected at the Great Veggie Grow Off kick-off
- Frontline Excavation—creating a youth friendly outdoor space, at no cost
- Sumack Loft—donating work on our logo
- Ultramar CST – community fund for kitchen upgrades and nutrition program
- Elizabeth Kelly Library Foundation – new skills development at MMYC
- Ryno Motors – an unsolicited and generous corporate donation
- Ramsay Women’s Institute – an unexpected kindness and donation
- Civitan Club – a welcome donation
- Neilcorp – a beauty corporate donation
- Fultons Pay-It-Forward – tips collected at the Pancake House donated to MMYC
- The Young Awards – have donated the contents of their bank account as they fold their foundation and support new artistic programs at MMYC
- The Hub is our constant support, and provides us with a monthly pledge
We invite you to help us celebrate the Centre and the Community! On June 12, we will be hosting a Community BBQ and our first Annual General Meeting from 6:00 to 8:00pm. We will provide the burgers and the drinks and you can bring a salad or dessert. It will be a special day for us as we welcome our Independence, cut our apron strings from the town and officially launch into an independent corporation!
Come see for yourself all the great things happening.
Jane Torrance, Chair
Mississippi Mills Youth Centre
