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Hereford Youth Center
Calling all Hereford Zone Middle Schoolers
Have you heard the news? You’re invited to the
Hereford Youth Center held at Hereford Middle
School on Friday nights (7-10pm) from
January through the end of March!
Hereford Youth Center is a recreational
program for all students in the Hereford Zone
in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades - you don’t
have to be a Hereford Middle School Student
to attend. The weekly event allows for
social interaction in a non-competitive
atmosphere and includes a DJ, dancing, XBOX games, open gym with ping pong and basketball, and a fabulous concession stand.
The HYC was started twenty-nine years ago by Mr. Barry Hart and Mrs. Linda Price, both very active community members. Mr. Hart started the recreational program to give pre-teens something to do on Friday nights other than hang out at the mall. In fact his son, Brad
Hart, grew up attending Hereford Middle and the youth center, and is now our DJ each Friday night. During the day, he is an engineer, but he has continued to provide DJ services for the youth center for many years.
Mr. Jeff Smith took over the teen center in 2006 and supervised the center for five years but the HYC was in jeopardy of closing this year. So, in order to keep the center going, Ken and Laura Kolb, agreed to take it over for the next three years. Mrs. Kolb explained that her son,
Phoenix, was entering middle school this year, and she wanted him to have the same opportunity to experience the Hereford Youth Center. There are really not a lot of things middle schoolers can do alone and it’s an outlet for developing social skills at that age.
Mrs. Kolb shared that she has had so many parents come up to her and say “I went to the youth center when I attended Hereford Middle; now my son/daughter goes to the youth center.” Or they say, “I have the best memories of being a kid at the youth center” and “I had my first dance with a boy/girl at the youth center.”
“It’s very gratifying to know parents have so many good memories of the youth center and now it is available to their kids. It’s a real pleasure to watch them have fun and just be kids” shared Laura. In addition to the Kolb’s, 15-20 parents chaperone each night along with ten, paid high schoolers helping each youth center to run smoothly. “The teenage kids do a tremendous job, setting up, registering kids, selling concessions, and most importantly, interacting with the middle schoolers. You can often see them leading the kids in dances like Cotton-Eyed Joe or playing a game of basketball with the kids” said Laura.
The Hereford Youth Center is still accepting new members! Online registration is ongoing through www.Stonealley.com. It’s $55 to register for the year or come as a guest for $9/ night. All parents are required to chaperone 1 or more times during the year (the work is really easy). Come join us! It’s fun and the kids have a blast! For more information, call Laura Kolb at 410-598-7115.
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Each month The Zone will spotlight one organization in the community. If you are involved in an organization that you’d like to nominate to be featured in The Community Spotlight, please e-mail the details to:
Local middle-schoolers having fun at a recent Hereford Youth Center event.
Photos provided by Laura Kolb
