(Stephanie McLeod and her husband are now the proud sponsors of the Home Bosses Youth Centre located at the Frederick Banting Alternative High School. Youth attending the re-opening under the new banner are with Stephanie as she holds the golden key presented to her and her husband. Photos: Stittsville Central)
On Wednesday, September 24th Home Bosses Youth Centre (HBYC) opened their doors for another year of providing a safe and fun environment for teens to enjoy. Sponsored by The Home Bosses Real Estate Team, Kiwanis is hosting a youth group with new hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4:00pm – 8:00pm. The youth group is held on the second floor of Frederick Banting Alternative High School and welcomes youth from the 7th to 12th grades. Entirely powered by volunteers from Kiwanis and all around the community, this youth group provides youth with a safe space to hang out and enjoy themselves.
There are several rooms dedicated to different activities that attendees can utilize. Slight modifications have been made to the rooms compared to previous years to make them more comfortable. Each room is set-up with different types of games such as – table games (i.e. Foosball, Ping Pong and more) a Wii games room, an arts and crafts/dungeons and dragons room, a games (XBox, Playstation to name a couple) space and finally a room where kids can do puzzles or just hang out. The rooms provide many choices for the youth and a comfortable area to play board games, study or just sit around and talk.
(The HBYC offers various activities for youth with different rooms designated for each purpose such as games, sewing, a quiet chat or studying. The photos show the layouts of each room.)
This year the youth group has been renamed the Home Bosses Youth Centre after receiving local sponsorship from The Home Bosses Real Estate Team. I spoke with the new sponsor, Stephanie McLeod, asking what inspired her to be a sponsor for this youth group. She said she wanted to “give back in a different way and youth were at the top of the list.”
While at Home Bosses Youth Centre, I also got to meet a group of girls who have been coming to this youth group since it opened three years ago. So many positive things were said about the youth group for me to quote, but the overall consensus was that “it’s a fun environment where everyone is welcoming and inviting”. I was told that “it’s a welcome escape from school and an insanely fun environment for them to enjoy”.
The youth group attendees as well as the president of the Kiwanis Club Spencer Radford expressed their gratitude for the volunteers who make the environment as fun and as safe as it is today. If you’re looking for a way to volunteer for the community, the Home Bosses Youth Centre is a worthy cause. Visit this link to sign up to volunteer today.
You might be interested in the work I have been doing with Gen Z. First, a published book titled “Becoming Whole in a Fractured World”, available as a KDP offering on Amazon.. Then, a new upcoming series with the online newspaper, WestCarleton Online, publisher Jake Davies, see https://richardlongworth.ca/. My work with the Dave Smith Youth Centre and with Kanata United Youth Centre. I would be happy to share my resources with you, in particular, free copies of my published book which has received a lot of interest.