Kids in need get a little help from community
Teens get basketball courts and chance to do ‘something positive’
Community engagement has been a slam dunk for a Niagara agency that supports at-risk youth.
Youth Resources Niagara operates three residential homes — Genesis in Welland, and David S. Horne and the Ray and Pat Wagner homes both in Fonthill — as well as a variety of community-based programs.
The organization provides services for youths aged 12 through 17 who have come into contact with the legal system, are homeless or who are in the care of Family and Children’s Services Niagara.
The agency recently purchased two permanent basketball poles and backboards for its sports pad.
“We would buy portable basketball nets and the kids would destroy them after about two
months of play,” said executive director Mike Taylor.
He quickly came to realization, however, that installing the permanent poles would not be a simple DIY project.
Taylor reached out to Stolk
Construction. The Niagara-based company donated its time and talent to complete the project.
The family business has been around since 1962 and focuses on construction within the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors.
“As a company we love doing things in the community, and this year a lot of those opportunities weren’t really around,” said company president Len Stolk.
“This seemed like a great fit for us.”
Taylor said the partnership with Stolk was one of several recent initiatives that benefited both residents and the community at large.
A local organic farm, for example, donated seeds and supplies for several planter boxes for vegetables at the Genesis location and soil and fertilizer was donated by Plants Choice Landscaping.
Students maintained the gardens and the produce — including tomatoes, beans and strawberries — was donated to Pelham Cares food bank.
“Projects like this are very important because it helps the kids to appreciate and understand that they belong to a community, that they are a part of it,” Taylor said.
“Most of the kids we work with don’t often have that experience of being able to be validated for having done something positive in their community.”