Et cetera : NCCC Team Cleans Up, Clears Out and Reorganizes Haskell Youth Center

Forrest Maher cleans out lockers in the basement of the Haskell Youth Center.

By Jessica Beck

Over the past two weeks, Oak 4 has been working with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Flint at the Haskell Youth Center in Flint, Mich. Since day one, the NCCC team has been welcomed by the staff with open arms, treated like family and given much praise for the work being done. The mayor of Flint, Dayne Walling, even came out to show his support and greet the NCCC team during their first week of work.

As a proud AmeriCorps alum himself, Mayor Walling says, "I hope that one day AmeriCorps will be recognized more like the honor of service in the armed forces because community and national service are so important to sustaining our values at a local and national level."

So far, Oak 4 has completely cleared out and organized several rooms inside the Haskell Center, creating more space and cleaner storage areas for the staff and volunteers. They have done some outdoor work such as picking up debris so that the grounds can be mowed. There have also opportunities for the team to interact with the youth of the Haskell Youth Center by helping with the last week of summer program activities.

Ms. Johnnie Lacy, Haskell Youth Center supervisor for the NCCC team says, "These young adults are industrials, hardworking, work well together and work expeditiously."

Since its beginning in 2009, the Haskell Youth Center has been providing quality structured programming for the community’s youth with the direct help of the Flint Police Activities League (PAL), Keep Genesee County Beautiful, and New Paths Inc. With additional help from the NCCC team, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Flint and these fundamental partners can utilize more of the space within the Haskell Youth Center for existing programs and improves the overall appearance of the facility inside and out.

The Haskell Youth Center gives children an opportunity to elevate themselves in the community. Their mission is to inspire and enable all young people; especially those who need them most to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.