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RYVES YOUTH CENTER Magazine

“Miracle on 14th Street”

______________________________________________________ Summer 2015 Volume I No. 1 ______________________________________________________

Director’s Message from Jim Edwards

"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today." - Stacia Tauscher, dancer and artist

As you can tell from our new magazine, the children of Ryves Youth Center have been busy during the summer. If not for the donors and volunteers who help our youth center, most of our activities would not be offered. I would like to thank all of the people who helped us this year. Outside groups, such as the Purdue Extension Office and ISU Therapeutic Arts, came weekly to provide programming for our children. The Community School of the Arts provided four scholarships for our children to attend the ISU Rock Camp, and the Ryves Community Optimists provided the final funding for our Boy Scouts to attend their summer camp at Camp Krietenstein. The

Ryves Girls Club received numerous donations when they held their bake sale. With the proceeds, over twenty girls were able to go swimming at the YMCA. Finally, when an anonymous donor found out that our children did not have adequate school supplies to begin the school year, he purchased enough supplies to help 150 children. Throughout the year we will be looking for more volunteers and donors to help increase our programming. I truly believe in the African proverb, “it takes a village to raise a child.” The children, staff, and volunteers at Ryves Youth Center need the people of the Terre Haute area to be our village.

In This Issue Director’s Message

Summer Events Freedom Fest 2 An Amazing Festival 3 Rock Camp! 3 School Supplies 3 Summer Programs Girls Club 4 A Fun Club 5 4H/Purdue Extension 6 Feeding the Children 7 Scout’s Honor 8 Summer Calendar 11 by Jim Pinkstaff Ray Dolle, editor Cecilia van Wijk, associate editor

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Summer Events

Freedom Fest, by Jim Edwards

Enduring Freedom Ministries came from Effingham, IL to collaborate with local agencies to hold the first Indiana Freedom Fest at Herz-Rose Park in Terre Haute, Indiana on June 13th. Organizations belonging to the Ryves-Vitalization group joined to help make this event a huge success. Activities included inflatable games, free handouts such as detergent and clothing, and much more. Two hundred sixty-four families received free items during the day’s festivities. Basketball tournaments were also popular throughout the day with trophies going to the winners. Of course there was lots of live entertainment from several Christian bands. Lunch and supper were served. Dan Snider and Paul Conches helped serve ham and beans for supper to anyone who was hungry. Members of New Life Church furnished corn bread for everyone. The supper was partially subsidized through the Summer Food Services Program (SFSP). Over 200 meals were served, made from fifty-five pounds of beans, twenty-five pounds of ham, and five pounds of bacon. Supper was served for approximately 90 minutes, and by the end of serving all of the beans had been eaten. Throughout the day, teens signed up to serve in the Word by Ten program. They supervised the inflatables, ran errands, and made sure that the event was going smoothly. At the end of the day all of the teens gathered at Ryves Youth Center, a program of Catholic Charities Terre Haute, to have a retreat, play games, and learn about serving for Christ. On Sunday morning, members of the Ryves-Vitalization committee, Ryves Community Optimists, Ryves Neighborhood Association, and New Life Church came to Ryves Youth Center to eat breakfast with members of the Enduring Freedom Ministries and the Word by Ten group. Vickie Kight, Director of Enduring Freedom Ministries, led a short service prior to releasing the teens. This event not only touched many teens but also helped many neighborhood residents realize that they were not alone. Many residents spoke of how pleasant the event was and how the city should know what was happening in their neighborhood. Plans are under way for future block parties and events to bring the Ryves Neighborhood together. For those who would like to support the Ryves-Vitalization program, much help is needed. Currently the residents are being surveyed to better understand their needs and ideas to improve their neighborhood. Additional surveyors are needed now. Residents are also invited to attend the Ryves Neighborhood

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Association meetings, which are held at Ryves Youth Center (1356 Locust St) at 7:00 p.m. on the second Monday of each month. Also, for anyone interested in helping the Ryves Neighborhood children, volunteers are needed at Ryves Youth Center throughout the week and for the Ryves Community Optimists Club (RCOC), who support programs that help the children in the Ryves Neighborhood. The RCOC meets at Ryves Youth Center on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 pm. For more information please contact Paul Conches, President of Ryves Neighborhood Association, at 812-239-8412.

An Amazing Festival, by Kailey Bennett, age 11 The Freedom Festival was amazing. I jumped out of the car waiting to see this juicy land. There were bouncy houses, food, drinks, and food bags. One of the foods I liked was the beans because they were delicious. I also liked the cornbread which I dipped in my beans. It tasted even better that way. Along with the food, the best experience I had was the bouncy house. It was super bouncy and made me fly in the air. I also enjoyed some of the Christian music playing in the background. Wow, where else can you get this great of an experience? Next time you should go and have fun!

Rock Camp! by Ray Dolle

Sarah Bruce, Micah Cox, Tamarah Fugate, and Beverly Lawson received scholarships to attend Rock Camp! at Indiana State University from July 19-24. The intense six-day residency program was an opportunity for high school students to benefit from music education. They learned about music performance, music business, and music history, exploring music as a viable career choice. Students chose to play one of five traditional rock instruments: guitar, drums, bass, keyboards, or vocals. Sarah and Tamarah performed voice, with Micah on guitar and Beverly on drums. They also enjoyed suite-style living and buffet-style dining--all for a $525 scholarship from the Indiana State University Community School of the Arts.

School Supplies, by Ray Dolle On August 6-7, every child who came into Ryves Youth Center received a bag of school supplies. The bags held pencils, crayons, markers, paper, notebooks, folders, glue, and safety scissors. One hundred and fifty bags were distributed. Over $1200 of supplies were purchased by an anonymous educator who believes Ben Franklin was right: “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

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Summer Programs

Girls Club, by Roc’keyah Lord and Cecilia Van Wijk

Here at Ryves, we’ve created what we call “The Girls Club” specifically for the young girls to have something they can call their own. This summer we have been meeting on Tuesdays and Fridays at 5:00 p.m. From having movie nights to playing outside with bubbles and chalk, there are tons of activities we complete. Just recently, we took our girls for some volunteer work at the Strawberry Fest, where they had a blast. We also try to teach the girls life skills, such as manners, respect, and etiquette. In addition, we take on lots of arts and crafts, which the girls enjoy. In only two months since The Girls Club was established, we have created a steady foundation at Ryves for our club and, most importantly, for our young girls. Our goal is to offer our girls a variety of experiences. Some of these experiences come from guest speakers. One afternoon Patrece Dayton from WTHI came to speak with the girls about how taking risks to reach your dreams can be beneficial. Patrece reminded the girls that reading and writing are important to become successful no matter what your dreams might be. Patrece also spoke with our girls about bullying. She is sad when she has to tell stories about bullying but understands that it brings awareness to the issue. She encouraged the girls not to focus on the bullies in their lives, but to focus on the people who love them and know how beautiful and valuable they are.

Patrece Dayton talking with The Girls Club, July 14

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Another experience we offer our girls is the chance to raise funds for themselves. We held a bake sale and lemonade stand. The girls each contributed one item for our sale: brownies, eggs, vegetable oil, lemonade, and lemons. The girls also helped bake the brownies and mix the lemonade. Our goal for this event was to teach the girls self-sufficiency. Their reward from this sale was that the $214 raised went toward a pool party at the YMCA on July 29.

Makayla Gaines, Yuli Donna, Keilee Rutledge, Sarah Bruce, Cierra Gaines, Hailey Bennett, Brionna Gaines, Roc’keyah Lord, Tina Hoopingarner, India Bennett, Jessalynn Boone, Carrie Bays, and Kailey Bennett

A Fun Club, by Sydney Jewell, age 7

The Girls Club is a fun thing to do. We play dancing games and Twister. We also have face paint parties and make lipstick and bows. Some nights we watch movies like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Roc’keyah and Cecilia are nice. They are polite and smart. They are good people and could be good teachers. They let us hug them.

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Dancing at The Girls Club: Hailey Bennett, Neveah Hurns, Kailey Bennett, Haley Scales, and India Bennett

4H/Health and Nutrition, by Taylor Turchi and Emily Virosko As summer interns with the Purdue Extension Office of Vigo County, we visit various community places where we teach the students life lessons. During our time at Ryves, we have taught the children about dental hygiene, physical fitness, personal hygiene, sportsmanship, and nutrition. These lessons are beneficial to the children as they go about their daily lives. Our goal is to teach them the importance of caring for their bodies and some ways to do that. Along with each lesson, we provide the students with an item corresponding to that lesson. For example, when we taught dental hygiene we provided each student with a toothbrush and toothpaste. We tried to engage all the students at Ryves actively in small groups so that they were having so much fun they did not realize they were learning life lessons at the same time.

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Allison Finzell, “the Popcorn Lady” from the Purdue Extension Office

Feeding the Children, by Michelle Brewer, age 14

Kids eat free at Ryves. Monday through Friday Gina Dickens and Tina French prepare a snack at 1:00 and dinner at 4:30. Each meal includes at least two items totaling ¾ cup of fruit and/or vegetables and two ounces of meat with a slice of bread and 8 oz. of milk. The favorites are bacon, spaghetti, meatloaf, and the chocolate chip muffins. The menu is varied with donations, such as twenty to twenty-five pizzas from Dominos once a month.

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Robert Thompson

Under the Feeding America Backpack Program, a bag of non-perishable food items is given to every child each Friday. Sixty to eighty bags are given out each week. Items include granola bars, fruit roll-ups, cereal, oatmeal, soup, Ramen noodles, pop tarts, peanut butter, juice pouches, and shelf-stable milk. Thanks to Terre Haute Catholic Charities Foodbank, grants, and donors.

Scout’s Honor, by Tom Bruce

Boy Scout Troop 22 has a lot going this summer. The active members are Samuel Barnett, Lakota Bays, Jason Gosnell, Jacob Johnson, Christopher Lawson, and Damion Tackett, with Scoutmaster Tom Bruce and Assistant Scoutmaster Tim Wood. They meet every Monday from 6:00-7:30 p.m. in the Scout Room in the Lower Level of Ryves Youth Center.

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Troop 22: Tom Bruce (Scout Master), Josh Curry, Sam Barnett, James Myers (Counselor), AJ Dersch, Damien Tackett, Lakota Bays, Jacob Johnson, JJ Gosnell, and Chris Lawson

The troop celebrated a successful summer camp at Camp Krietenstein from July 13-19. This camp included six days of merit badge courses in such skills as first aid, swimming, fishing, archery, pioneering, and orienteering, which will help the Scouts on their Eagle Quest. Lakota Bays and Sam Barnett were the only Scouts from the Wabash Valley District to be inducted that week into the Order of the Arrow, a national honor society to recognize Scouts selected by their peers as exemplifying the ideals of Scouting. Lakota and Sam are Eagle Scout Candidates. As fundraisers in August, the troop sold pizza cards to pay membership fees to the Order of the Arrow, and to start saving for next year’s summer camp they held a carwash.

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Lakota Bays and Sam Barnett, Order of the Arrow and Eagle Scout Candidates

Cub Scout Pack 22 meets on Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. in the Scout Room at Ryves Youth Center. The boys are Chris Castle, Jeremy Castle, Kyle Castle, Jacob Cambers, Rodney Chambers, Jordan Cuffle, Aaron “JoJo” Ellis, Levi Lopez, Peyton Lopez, Jimmy Massutti, and Trenton Massutti. They are planning a fundraiser in August. The money raised will go for fun activities, like a field trip to a zoo or children’s museum, and for pack expenses, like $300 this year for merit badges.

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~ August 2015 ~

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

3 Snack 1:00

Games

1:30

Open Gym 3:00

Dinner 4:30

Boy Scouts

6:00

Volleyball 6:00

4 1:00 Snack

Games

1:30

Health and Nutrition

2:00

Open Gym 3:00

Dinner 4:30

Closing at 6:00

for National Night

Out

5 1:00 Snack

Games

1:30

4-H 2:00

Open Gym

3:00

Dinner 4:30

Open Gym

5:00

Arts and Crafts 5:30

6 1:00 Snack

Games

1:30

Open Gym 3:00

Dinner 4:30

Open Gym

5:00

Kickball 6:00

7 Backpack Day

Snack 1:00

Games

1:30

Open Gym 3:00

Dinner 4:30

Open Gym

5:00

Girls Club 6:00

8

12

9

10 Snack 1:00

Games

1:30

Open Gym 3:00

Dinner 4:30

Boy Scouts

6:00

Volleyball 6:00

11 First Day of

School

Snack 3:00

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

Girls Club

5:30

Basketball Leagues

5:30

Cub Scouts 6:00

12 Snack 3:00

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

Arts and Crafts

6:00

Kickball 6:00

13 Snack 3:00

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

Basketball Leagues

5:30

Ham Radio Testing

6:00

14 Backpack Day

Snack 3:30

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

Open Activities

in Gym 5:00

Girls Club

6:00

15

16

17 Snack

3:00

Homework Help/Tutoring

3:30

Dinner 4:30

Boy Scouts

6:00

18 Snack 3:00

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Domino’s

Pizza Night! 4:30

Girls Club

5:30

Basketball Leagues

5:30

Cub Scouts 6:00

19 Snack 3:00

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

Arts and Crafts

6:00

Kickball 6:00

20 Snack 3:00

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

Basketball Leagues

5:30

21 Backpack Day

Snack 3:30

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

Open Activities

in Gym 5:00

Girls Club

6:00

22

13

23

24 Snack 3:00

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

Boy Scouts

6:00

25 Snack 3:00

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

Girls Club

5:30

Basketball Leagues

5:30

Cub Scouts 6:00

26 Snack 3:00

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

Arts and Crafts

6:00

Kickball 6:00

27 Snack 3:00

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

Basketball Leagues

5:30

28 Backpack Day

Snack 3:30

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

1980s Dance

Party! 6:00

29 Downtown Terre Haute Block Party

The Ryves Community

Optimist Club Will be at Kamikaze

Karate

30

31 Snack 3:00

Homework

Help/Tutoring 3:30

Dinner 4:30

Boy Scouts

6:00

Notes: