Did you know that the space above Love’s Treasures is actually an after school program for the youth in our community?
This hidden gem on Love INC’s campus is also known as the Hy5 Center, a place where high school students can come after school Tuesday through Thursday to find community, friendship, play games, and work together to serve the community.
Started and run by three local youth pastors at three different area churches, Hy5 provides a place for teens to find and form positive relationships with other youth and Christian adults – a safe, positive community where they can grow, find genuine relationships and be themselves.
Kaitlin Verkaik, Director of Community Engagement at Love INC, shared, “I was so invigorated by the collaboration among these three churches and their desire to bring youth closer to a supportive community and the love of Christ, whether or not it increased their Sunday morning numbers. I immediately offered up one of our empty upstairs rooms and our staff unanimously voted to have them move on to campus. They didn’t even have to shop for furniture, we just wheeled items from our resale stores over! So cool to watch God orchestrate His plan through relationships.”
When the students were asked what they like about the Hy5 Center, here’s what some of them shared:
“I like meeting with friends and playing board games and video games together.”
“It’s a friendly environment.”
“I like gaming with friends in the same room instead of online.”
Community and friendship is something that we long for as humans. The youth pastors recognize the impact this community has had on the youth that attend. Providing an adult Christian mentor every day after school while many parents work has created strong and positive relationships between Hy5 leaders and families of each student. The Hy5 center is a welcoming environment where they can create friendships and feel comfortable to do that. One student shared that they come to the Hy5 Center “because it is a place where I feel like I belong.”
Not only are students building friendships, but they are finding their purpose and learning what it means to be selfless and serve.
The students who attend the Center are often pulled into projects to help the ministry of Love INC. This looks like pricing games, sorting donations, hauling gifts to and from our Community Christmas event, breaking down the Wednesday Sidewalk Sales in the summer and much more.
Although the Hy5 Center is not a ministry of Love INC, we are thrilled to have them on our campus. Their willingness to serve and bring bright and uplifting energy to each building is a gift to us.
As the Hy5 Center continues to thrive, they are always looking for more churches to partner with, volunteers to join in, and students to connect with. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about the Hy5 Center, contact Fig VanderMolen at [email protected].
