“Foundations” is a monthly series examining the fundamentals of local government, talking about how government works and how it impacts people’s lives at the local level. This week, …
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“Foundations” is a monthly series examining the fundamentals of local government, talking about how government works and how it impacts people’s lives at the local level. This week, “Foundations” examines the organizations throughout the Upper Delaware River valley that are working to improve the lives of the area’s youth.
The Upper Delaware River Valley is a rural, widespread area with limited spaces open to the public and limited options for public transportation.
It’s a set of characteristics that can be a blessing and a curse. For children in the Upper Delaware River Valley, it can be hard for them to gather outside of school hours.
“When I was a kid, I just got my neighbors together and we all played baseball in a field,” said Alex Gardner, a board member with the Delaware Youth Center (DYC). “But kids don’t have that so much, because people are pretty far apart in this area.”
The challenges of distance and space have their answers in local communities that come together to ensure children have places to gather and activities to gather around.
Several towns and townships in the region have youth committees and activities as part of their local-government structure.
The Cochecton Youth Commission organizes fundraisers and activities for the town’s children, planning everything from educational trips to crafts, movie nights to baseball games. The Highland Summer Youth Program gives children aged five to 12 a summer experience that includes art projects, nature and science explorations, and field trips.
Some of these programs are focused primarily on the children of a specific town. Others, like the Tusten Youth Commission (TYC), encourage children throughout the Upper Delaware River Valley to attend their events.
“We talked to the [Sullivan County] director of youth services [when getting funding], and she taught us a little bit more about the need in Monticello and Liberty and how many kids go without food,” said TYC member Kelly Agar. “So we realized that its important to offer healthy choices to our kids, and that’s when we kind of made the decision no child is going to pay for anything with us. We will always feed children, no questions asked. It doesn’t matter what town you’re from, we’re going to feed you if you come to our event.”
The TYC runs parties and community events throughout the year, by itself and in partnership with other organizations. It runs a summer program for kids and partners with Fort Delaware for historical programs. It holds holiday events within Tusten, including an Easter egg hunt, a Halloween trunk-or-treat with decorated car trunks, and a Christmas occasion with Santa. The activities aren’t just for kids, either; the TYC partnered with the Narrowsburg Chamber of Commerce for the town’s Logging Days event, and arranged a Fourth of July celebration that brought over 2,000 people to Narrowsburg. “Parents stay longer because their kids are having fun, and it’s free, we provide it,” said TYC member Chrystal Weston. And holding these events brings the community together, adults and children alike, lets people forge connections they couldn’t at any other time.
The DYC does the same sort of community-building work further north along the Upper Delaware River Valley. It holds the Callicoon Tractor Parade, and puts on an annual river race. There’s the summer program for kids, an Easter egg hunt and a Thanksgiving-weekend holiday craft fair.
It also has a physical center located in the hamlet of Callicoon, with amenities such as a swimming pool; tennis, pickleball and basketball courts; a baseball field and a main hall.
Unlike the TYC, the Delaware Youth Commission does all this as a private nonprofit.
“Almost everyone in the area thinks this is a town park, but it’s not: it’s the youth center,” said Gardner.
The DYC supports itself and maintains its facilities primarily through memberships and fundraisers, though it has received some state funding in recent years through Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther’s efforts.
While the memberships are paid, the DYC gives away memberships to those in need, some sponsored by other members of the community. “We don’t have a lot of money, but we have enough money to sponsor families,” said Gardner. “We don’t ever, ever, want someone not to be able to come. We do everything we can to make sure people can come.”
Thanks to the efforts of engaged community members—nearly all of them volunteers—children in the Upper Delaware River Valley have spaces to visit and activities to bring them together, keeping a sense of community alive.
“Having a place [where] kids can meet up with other kids and parents can meet up with other parents while their children are playing is so important, and there’s not a lot of places like that,” said Gardner.
“For us, it’s about the children, and making this a place that they want to stay,” said Agar. “Or, if they don’t stay, they have memories of an amazing childhood here.”
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