New Youth Center Impacts Community

If you are a parent and are looking for a place for your kids to hangout this summer, Dresden may have the answer.

The newly opened Dresden Youth Center offers a wide variety of activities for children ages eight to 18 to enjoy. Popular activities include pool, X-BOX, board games, and even a concession stand. The center prides itself in being a safe, fun and positive environment for kids.

Owner Michael Mathew explained, “We have a very, very good group of kids, and we’ve actually had a couple parents who’ve come and talked to us that their children may have had some behavioral issues and what not, and since coming here there’s been some big changes in their lives,” he said. “It’s actually just a fun place, we have fun with the kids. We talk to the kids, we let the kids know that we’re there to be supportive of them.”

The center, which opened Feb. 1, is a not-for-profit organization that reaches out to the community for donations and assistance.

“We reach out to the community to get some assistance at times, and the community has been great,” Mathew said. “We’ve also had a lot of local people step up and volunteer their time to get the building ready. Outside the building there’s some graffiti art, the artist volunteered his time for that. We’ve had just an exceptional outpouring of just people being helpful.”

The center has a daily rate of $5 or offers six-month and yearly memberships.