Friday, August 22, 2014

Loss of Funding Threatens Continued Operation of Oregon Youth Center


YMCA to pull out of Oregon Youth Center, leaving its future in question.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 8/22/2014)

About the Oregon Youth Center.  The supporters have since caught a break. Dane County, which helps fund the center, requires a 90-day notice before an entity it funds can stop providing services. Consequently, the YMCA has agreed to continue operating the center until Nov. 5, giving supporters more time to formulate a plan. 

The center, 110 N. Oak Street, is a modest affair, staffed by two part-time YMCA employees and housed in a former village EMS garage. It offers free after-school programs, clubs, summer activities and community service projects for children in fifth through eighth grade.  

The center was founded in 2000 by community residents, who organized an advisory board to help oversee its operations. 

The numbers from its 2013 annual report:
  • 212 youth served
  • 6414 activity participations

The facility is open 15 hours per week, approximately 780 per hear, which gives it an average activity participation rate of just over 8 per hour.

The City of Middleton closed its youth center twice, in 2010 and 2013, due to declining attendance.

Perhaps the third time will be the charm.


Middleton Youth Center

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