Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.
For the young people of Elmira and the surrounding area, the youth centre in the Woolwich Memorial Centre is a safe haven where they can play video games, do crafts, and socialize with their friends in an environment where they’re welcomed, not judged, and celebrated for who they are. It’s an additional option outside their educational settings and their home life, specially designed to provide them with a sense of belonging they might not find elsewhere. It’s affectionately known as The Hub.
For Christina Veltkamp, the child and youth programmer, it’s more than a vocation – it’s a calling.
Rachel Geen, Cassie Bodd, Mel Petty, Christina Veltkamp, Jocelyn Raben and Gabriel Goforth posed in front of the centre’s wall of artwork. Colt Haffner and Anthony Ziyenge were playing Nintendo. Rachel Green, Ryder Blanc, Sam Beringer and Lila McCormack showed off their art projects.
