HELPING TEENS
Community Miracles in Action celebrates one-year anniversary
COHOES, N.Y. >> A local nonprofit for teens is celebrating its one-year anniversary of creating community miracles.
Community Miracles in Action held a ribbon cutting ceremony and anniversary event last week to mark a full year since it first opened the doors of its teen center at 289 Ontario St. in Cohoes.
The organization was founded by Crystal Alesio in March of 2018 to provide a safe place for teens ages 13 through 19 to go where they can connect with adults who care, set and achieve goals, all while building relationships with others who have similar interests.
At the time of its inception last year Community Miracles in Action started with robotics, DJing and electronic music production workshops - but Alesio saw potential for more.
Guided by the interest and passion of local teens, Community Miracles in Action launched a popular music program called Louder Dreams Entertainment in November. Louder Dreams provides workshops on lyricism, production, recording,
music engineering, licensing, publishing, and live events, with the goals of increasing entrepreneurship and professional interpersonal skills.
Alesio partnered with producer, songwriter and artist Kendall Williams, also known as Theory, in this endeavor. Within its first three months of operation Louder Dreams has expanded rapidly, so far working with about 30 teens each week and several area organizations.
Through this program, Williams loves helping teens find their voice. “It’s just awesome watching them grow,” he said. “Growth is so important.”
In all of its efforts, Community Miracles in Action aims to provide a growth environment for Capital Region teens. The culture created through Louder Dreams, a sustainable program that gives youth an
outlet for free expression and acceptance, is exactly what Alesio was striving to create when she first started the nonprofit.
In addition to Louder Dreams Entertainment, Community Miracles in Action hosts the Capital Region Food Bank’s Cohoes Backpack Program that feeds 15 food insecure youth each week.
Most importantly, Community Miracles in Action is a drop-in teen center with systems of support for teens of all demographics. During drop-in hours, which are 3:30 to 6 p.m. on Thursdays, 4:30 to 8 p.m. on Fridays and noon to 4 p.m. every other Saturday, any local kids can use the teen center as a place to hang out that’s away from home, where they can eat food, socialize or even lounge and watch Netflix.
“It’s just a safe place from them to be, to have access to mentors that care,” Alesio said.
Overall, Community Miracles in Action is about investing in the local youth,
who are the future of the community. Alesio and her team of volunteers are extremely passionate about this. “We love it,” she said. “I live this stuff.”
Prior to starting Community Miracles in Action, Alesio worked with area youth for more more than 15 years, first at the Cohoes Community Center and then for the city of Cohoes.
“I realized the further I got into my career, that I noticed there was a need and I couldn’t figure out how to meet it working under somebody else’s umbrella,” Alesio said. So she started her own nonprofit organization to address that need she recognized, and began collaboration with other Capital Region partners to make it a success.
In just its first year, Community Miracles in Action has grown to now serve about 30 area teens, and the organization’s goal is to double that by the end of the current school year. Other goals for the future are to expand the Backpack Program to help feed more kids in need, and increase the teen center’s drop-in hours.
More information about Community Miracles in Action is available online at www.communitymiracles.org and www. facebook. com/operationCMA.
The organization can be contacted by calling (518) 326- 0399.