CAMP HIGHLIGHTS
For more information check out our camp page!

BCYAC Projects for 2008:
 Youth Center                  Pool Pals              Summer Day Camp             

Bates County Youth Advocacy Council, Inc. is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit formed in conjunction with the University of Missouri Extension and the Bates County Juvenile Office to address the needs of at-risk children in Bates County. The Council functions with a board and is financed solely by donations and fund raisers.  The Council has been in existence for 17 years.

n      Butler Youth Center: The Center is open two nights a week for children kindergarten through 7^th grade. Over 70 youth per night participate in center activities.  Over 300 children attend the center on a regular basis.  Kelly Stark, manager, supervises two teenage employees carefully chosen as peer models. They manage the kitchen and snacks; supervise craft activities and recreational activities. Jan Newcomb is the crafts manager. The Butler Rotary provides volunteers at the Center one night a month. The facility is owned by the City of Butler. The city provides maintenance, utilities, phone service and insurance for the Center.  The BCYAC provides all other financial assistance. Community groups sponsor the meals for the center.
 

	Supervised Activities: Gym activities, crafts, board and video games, pool and challenge events as well as monthly team building activities.
	Ø     Meals: The meals, provided nightly, are fully sponsored by community members and businesses. Meals include pizza, chili, spaghetti, hot wings, hot dogs, sandwiches, and Sonic Kids’ meals. Each meal also includes fruit, raw veggies and free drinks.
	Ø     Caring: The Center prides itself on providing a safe, caring environment where all children are treated with respect, warmth and understanding

n      Summer Day Camp:  The seventh annual day camp was held at the Butler Aquatics Center and the Butler Park. Forty-five  at-risk children, grades 1-6, participated in the day-long event. 
      The children swam at the Butler Aquatic Center in the morning and enjoyed hot dogs grilled by the Butler Police Department at noon.  Activities included ball throwing contests measured by the radar gun, giant inflatable climbing wall and game center, and beach blanket volleyball.  Sundaes from Sonic topped off the hot summer day.

             

NEEDS:

          The programs of the BCYAC depend completely on the cooperation of the community and the financial assistance of businesses, organizations, private citizens, and volunteers.  Because of the rapid expansion of the programs and the needs, the BCYAC with face severe choices in the coming year and the need for financial assistance as well as willing volunteers has never been greater.   Your help can make a difference in the lives of Bates County’s children.

          The growing number of children at the Youth Center(70 per night) and the declining number of available adult volunteers has forced us to hire help the past three years.  We hire an adult manager and three, teenagers in order to ensure that we have adequate supervision at the Center.  Combine that with needs for supplies such as crafts, cleaning, paper items, games, and food for the kids, and our cost of operating the Center is close to $6,000 per year.  Since we rely solely on free-will donations from organizations and groups and our potato fund raisers, our income has been less than our expenses these past three years.

There are many ways you can help. We are a 401C3 not-for-profit organization so all donations have tax benefits.

· Monetary assistance

· Computers for the Center. 

· CD  computer games, printer

· Used Game Box equipment and age-appropriate games.

· Radio/CD player.

· Age-appropriate board games.  These don’t have to be new.  Many people have board games in their closets that they never use.

· Food for the Center.  We especially need fresh foods such as hot dogs, buns, nacho cheese, carrots, apples, oranges, dips, etc. We also could use soda pop(although we do not provide this on a regular basis).  An organization or group could take one night and donate the food.  We would have to schedule these nights so they didn’t overlap.

· Arts and Crafts Supplies.  Construction paper, water-based paints, scissors, scotch tape, foam art, stickers, jewelry beads, crafts kits, etc.  We do not need colored pencils, markers, or crayolas.

· Active game supplies.  Kick balls, plastic bats and balls, nerf footballs, basketballs, etc.

· Pool balls.

· Electric space heater for pool table room.

· New curtains or mini blinds for windows.

· Cleaning supplies.

· Paper products such as paper plates, napkins, cups

· Cost of newspaper and radio publicity for fund raisers

• Folding Tables and chairs

We also buy most of the supplies for our potato fund raisers(two a year). This reduces our profit by about 1/3.  We need large baking potatoes, shredded cheese, sour cream packets, brown paper bags, napkins, ham, and containers for the cheese and chili.

As you can see, the needs are many and varied.  We appreciate your consideration and time as we seek to maintain our services to the children of Bates County.

For more information on how you can help, contact:

Kris Jenkins, BCYAC President 660-679-4167