New centre to open doors to opportunities for youth

Mayor Robert Quaiff, ROC Executive Director Darlene Thompson and Bill Roberts with the $5,000 contribution toward the new centre, from the County’s Community Economic Development Commission.

The County’s Community Economic Development Commission invested $5,000 into a new centre for youth focusing on community partnerships.

The Recreational Outreach Centre’s new Youth Centre, located at 299 Main in the former Coach’s bar, is being designed to help County youth build on success in the future.

“Youth retention was identified by the Commission as a key priority in the County’s community development efforts,” said councillor Bill Roberts, CEDC chair. “A key component of this priority was to engage schools and youth agencies in the County to develop and deploy youth entrepreneurship programming throughout our community. The ROC centre was the obvious choice for this.”

The CEDC plans to work with the ROC to develop programs ranging from mentorship that connects youth with business owners, to organized tours and educational workshops giving participants a glimpse into some of the County’s key industries. An emphasis will be placed on teaching youth about social enterprise, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy.

Hilary Fennell, the ROC’s program director notes programs will be free of charge to youth.

“We are going to focus on connecting with youth, seeing where their interests are and what they want.

“The ROC works with kids to create programming that not only provides a foundation for their future, but focuses on what really appeals to them,” Fennell said, noting the ROC, in the County for the past 16 years, has several local entrepreneurs interested in partnerships.

Darlene Thompson, Executive Director of the ROC, said the centre will continue to provide its on-and off-site after school drop-in activities and programs like cooking classes, fitness sessions, and tutoring/homework support.