Thank you New Hampshire Charitable and Miles Hodsdon Vernon!
Thank you so much to New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and Miles Hodsdon Vernon Foundation for generous support of our operations. These contributions go a long way in supporting our mission to serve local youth!
BTAS! Snowshoe
Yesterday we hosted a twilight snowshoe as a BTAS! (beyond the after school) program. What a fun winter night!
Tons of snow behind the KYC! Good thing we have a fleet of snowshoes!
Geared up with warm clothes, snowshoes, and head-lamps, we were ready to hit the trail!
We left from our own backyard. We all appreciated that it was a fairly mild night!
We started by breaking trail in the deep snow on our own trail. Our members helped to build the nature trail behind the KYC.
Next, we reached the Cotton Valley Rail Trail. Walking got easier as the trail is well packed by other snowshoers, skiers, and snowmobiles. We were still glad to have our snowshoes for stability and traction.
Afterwards we returned to the KYC to warm up and eat desert! What a fun night! Thanks for participating everyone! We snowshoe again on Friday, January 19th!
BTAS! During Holiday Break!
During holiday break, we hosted two full days of BTAS! (beyond the afterschool) programs!
We played a New Year’s Resolution game. We started by talking about goal setting and New Years resolutions. Then, we each wrote one Resolution on a piece of paper. Mara and Zachary drew resolutions, read them off, and challenged members to guess who they belonged to. Lots of fun!
We worked on wish flags. Many people who visit the center notice the wish flags on our wall. We worked to make sure the flags reflect our current members’ wishes.
We went sledding at the Nick. Cold weather made for a fast ride!
We played games, including Risk, Wii, and Fort Wars. A great way to spend a cold vacation day!
We practiced our job interviewing skills in a fun and informative life-skills activity.
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We socialized with rescue animals (including this energetic rat terrier!) at the Lakes Region Humane Society.
What great ways to spend a couple of winter vacation days! If you know a KRHS or KRMS who missed out on the fun, check out our BTAS! schedule to learn more! https://thekyc.org/news/beyond-the-after-school-btas/
Holidays At the KYC
Last week, we saw our members off for their vacations with a holiday celebration!
We were able to offer pizza from Louis’ Pizza. The pizza was provided by a donation from one of our food donors! Thank you! Louis offered free drinks! Thanks!
Each member got a gift as our token of appreciation for them! The blanket came from Project Blanket, a donation facilitated by one of our Board members. Thank you!
Dunkin Donuts gift cards came for White Horse Addiction Center and our good friend Eric! Thank you!
We threw in bags of candy, including some delicious chocolates!
We hosted a White Elephant, using fun and silly gifts from the KYC!
In some Indian cultures, White Elephants are sacred. They are an honorable gift to bestow on another. The catch is that because they are sacred, they may not be used for work. Therefore, the recipient must feed and clean up after a very big animal, but will get no help from it! Some of the gifts in a white elephant gift swap feel that way; prized, but unwanted.
2017 was a great year at the KYC. Thanks to everyone who helped out and participated! Let’s make 2018 even better! Happy New Year!
Festival of Trees!
Last week our BTAS! program took us to the Wright Museum for the Festival of Trees. Thank you Festival Trees Committee for hosting our group!
Part of our group standing around the KYC’s own tree! The theme for the KYC’s tree was BTAS! (beyond the after-school) programs. BTAS! programs are those programs, which the KYC offers in addition to our after-school program. These programs take place on weekends, during school vacations, on holidays, and in the evening. All programs come with a meal and are free to Kingswood high school and middle school students!
The Festival of Trees is hosted to support two worthy beneficiaries. (The KYC had this opportunity/honor in 2002 and 2015. Thank you Festival of Trees Committee!). This year, L.I.F.E Ministries Food Pantry was one of the worthy beneficiaries. What a creative ‘tree’ L.I.F.E Ministries Food Pantry displayed! Congrats on benefiting from this event and a big thank you for all that L.I.F.E. Ministries Food Pantry does to help our community.
The other beneficiary was Wolfeboro Area Recreation Association (WARA). The picture above is of our group enjoying WARA’s public facility, ‘The Nick.” Thanks WARA for being great neighbors and for supporting youth, athletics, fitness, and fun in our community.
We watched some very talented dancers. Thanks for putting on a great show!
What a fun and holiday-spirited evening in BTAS! Happy Holidays!
Gift Making. Woodworking!
Over the past couple of weeks, we have offered several woodworking projects. We are encouraging our members to make gifts for their friends and families. Handmade gifts can be a very special and affordable way to spread holiday cheer!
One student used a coping saw to cut out a ‘J’ for a loved one with a first name beginning with ‘J.’ Some diligent sanding and a nice paint job will turn this cut-out into a fine handmade gift!
Boxes make easy and useful hand-made gifts. Patience in sanding goes a long way in producing a nicer finished product.
Another student cut out a ‘heart’ shape for someone special. Others experimented with wood-burning, making some great looking gifts. Nice work KYCers! Happy Holidays.
Throwback Thursday!
Here’s a photo of our group last year at the Wright Museum for The Festival of Trees! The Festival of Trees begins this weekend. Each year, beneficiaries are selected and the proceeds of the event support the mission of those beneficiaries. This year’s beneficiaries are L.I.F.E. Ministries Food Pantry and Wolfeboro Area Recreation Association. The KYC was selected as the beneficiary in 2002 and 2015. We have participated annually by setting up a tree!
This past Monday we set up our tree at the Wright Museum. This coming Wednesday, our BTAS! program will consist of a trip to the Wright Museum to attend the event. Thanks to everyone in our community who make this fun and valuable event possible. For more info go to http://www.wolfeborofestivaloftrees.com/index.html
Job Application Scavenger Hunt
Yesterday we offered a job application scavenger hunt, members were challenged to find the mistakes hidden in a mock job application. Fun and informative!
Some of the mistakes were silly: Reason for leaving: “Didn’t like the boss;” Special skills: “Touching my tongue to my nose.”
Some were more serious. Remember to put your first and last names in the correct spaces; use reputable references; avoid misspelling; follow the directions!
This was a fun and informative way to get our members looking at job applications! These experiences help prepare our future workforce!
Night Games, Light Games
Well, its that time of year when it’s getting dark at 4:45 when we end our afterschool program. It can be dreary this time of year when the days are so short! On Tuesday, we chose to embrace the darkness by hosting an evening BTAS! program titled, Night Games, Light Games. Lots of fun!
We play museum in the KYC. The night-guard used a flashlight to catch people.
Outside, we played capture the glow stick and burglars!
For dinner: homemade pizza!
To cap the evening: sparklers!
Thanks KYCers for a fun night! Next BTAS! program is dinner and a movie on December 6th!
Thanksgiving At the KYC!
Last week, we continued a KYC tradition by hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. This year, we did things a little differently and hosted the event in the evening so that families could attend!
We worked together to prepare the feast. Food was provided by generous local donors and the NH Food Bank. Thank you!
We also worked together to set up for the event. In team creations, we made some very nice center pieces!
Great work KYCers, the Center looked great!
Before eating, we hosted a ‘U-Tell-Us’ segment, in which we all shared the things for which we are thankful! KYCers were thankful for friends, family, and many other things that are important in their lives!
On the menu!: Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, corn, green beans, home-made decorated cupcakes, and pumpkin and pudding pie!
What a fun (and delicious!) evening at the KYC! Thank you to everyone who helped out. We hope that all of our friends in the community had a great Thanksgiving! Thank you so much to our volunteers and supporters!