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Mar 23, 2023

A Place of Their Own: Western Rockingham Youth Ministry Center opens

Youth busy renovating 115 W. Hunter Street, the youth center space that will

Youth busy renovating 115 W. Hunter Street, the youth center space that will open with a big celebration this Saturday.

New desktop computers and highspeed internet, plus a laser printer, mean a good study space for teens who visit the center.

Nathan Sackfield practices guitar, and Gabe Adkins plays keyboard as friends listen in.

Garrett Collins leads youth in discussion at the new center.

Garrett Collins talks with youth Abby Corrhier about the upcoming celebration and grand opening of the center.

Taylor Kallam, left, and Amy Elizabeth Owens share the week's news at the youth center.

MADISON — Garrett Collins hears a frequency often lost in the cacophony of adult routines — the buzz of curiosity and interests of his community's youth.

Collins listened for music with 17-year-old Gabe Adkins, helping secure a keyboard for the new Western Rockingham Youth Center here where Gabe now regularly tries his hands at the weighted keys.

Other teens sought a path to helping Rockingham County's homeless, so the 31-year-old youth minister gave them the tools to feed the most vulnerable.

Collins’ work is part of his role as youth minister for Madison United Methodist Church and his part-time post leading the next generation at Mayodan United Methodist Church.

Along with Madison UMC's the Rev. Tracy Schumpert and the church's trustees, Collins helped secure a North Carolina Rural Center Grant and other funding to establish a new Western Rockingham Youth Ministry activity center in downtown Madison to serve the entire region.

The vibrant space at 115 W. Hunter Street, renovated top to bottom by youth and adult volunteers, will open to the community on Saturday with a grand celebration.

The street will be closed so that the largest and teen-accommodating inflatables can unfurl. Food trucks promise an afternoon of tasty grub, while Kona Ice is scooping up free snow cones. The WRYM will offer free hot dogs with the fixins’ and drinks, and doors to the new facility will be open for tours during the 3-6 p.m. soiree.

The WRYM center is a place "a teenager can walk in and find something that interests them,’’ Collins said, pointing out a bank of brand new desktop computers with printer and handsome marble-topped desks that mean easy broadband access for scores of county kids who live in dead zones.

For kids interested in coding, there are two Sphereo Mini robotics gizmos to practice with. Board games are stacked high, along with a full complement of video game systems including PS5, Nintendo Switch with four controllers, and Wii and Switch sports games.

A 55-inch smart TV makes for lively gatherings for big events, such as World Cup Soccer and the Super Bowl, Collins said.

A music area invites performers to try new instruments, including a snare drum and an electric guitar.

A bright yellow counter rings an ample kitchen — a space where teens can practice cooking skills, bake for fun and find wonderful snacks for study. And a Keurig coffee system is set up to deliver caffeine and a coffee shop vibe.

LED strip lights glow along the walls and cheerful Edison lights span the building's front so that evenings will be cozy at the center.

One room is designed for use by small study groups. "Sometimes meeting at other people's houses can be awkward for teens,’’ Collins said. "This way, it's just, ‘lets meet down at the youth center.’’’

Kids will have the chance to learn from tutors here, as well, said Collins, who has volunteer offers from retired teachers of different disciplines.

Taking in the mostly-finished rooms, Collins said, "A lot of the painting and cleaning, the youth did themselves. We wanted them to have a buy-in to this place.’’

On a recent Sunday evening, about a dozen kids poured into the new center they helped bring to life.

A few plopped down with friends on the slate-colored sectional sofa.

"This youth center is for all kinds of kids. We’re gonna be a safe place for any kid to feel that they belong,’’ Collins said, explaining youths from Mormon backgrounds and those who’ve grown up with Asian religious traditions have enjoyed fellowship around the center.

"These kids are showing me so much. They are authentically themselves,’’ said Collins, who graduated from Duke University's Divinity School in 2017.

Over the past couple years, Collins has watched his youth prepare meals for the hungry at Lot 25:40 in Mayodan and at the Seasonal Shelter for the unhoused in Eden. They’ve cleaned up the banks of the Dan and Mayo rivers with the Dan Riverkeeper and led bingo games for the elderly at NorthPointe residential facility in Mayodan.

The youth director has also dazzled kids with trips to trampoline parks, mechanical bull rides, pool parties, ropes courses and bon fires.

But when he asks his charges what they most want to do next with their free time: "The first thing they say is mission projects,’’ he says with a smile.

"They say, ‘We need to help the kids in need.’ They know they have the capacity and the ability to change the community they live in,’’ Collins said. "If it were our youth leading our churches, we’d be in way better shape for living into the message of Jesus Christ.’’

One of the voices with passion for outreach work is Taylor Kallam, 12, a Mayodan sixth-grader at Western Rockingham Middle School.

"I’ve learned a lot there at the center,’’ Taylor, daughter of Jared and Rebbeca Kallam, said. "That it is better to help the community around you than to sit around and sit inside all day.’’

The WRYM center is a place to connect, she said.

"I like that you get to have your own space to play around and be kids and get everything out so you can be OK at home,’’ Taylor said. "It's a really fun place to go and hang out with friends. There are video games and art supplies and board games, and all the kids like to use them a lot. Uno is the best. And I love art. It's been my favorite thing to do since I was seven.’’

Nathan Sackfield, 17, a junior at Rockingham County High School, plans to explore his musical interests at the center. Already a trombonist, he is learning banjo and can talk music with friends at WRYM.

And for an upcoming school project, Nathan knew that the study room would be ideal for his classmates' work session. "I’m planning on using it for my group assignment. We’re going to meet there. The center is a place where we can meet together. It gives us more places to go.’’

The center is open to the community twice each week from 5-7 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. Kids from 5th-12th grades are welcome to hang out at the center where snacks and drinks are free, Collins said.

Meanwhile, Collins has a wish list he hopes the community can help fill. It includes: used board games, books for the library, old Lego/model sets, used musical instruments, gently used school/art supplies and gently used sports equipment/lawn games.

For more information about how to make a donation or visit the center, contact Collins at: [email protected].

[email protected]

(336) 349-4331, ext. 6140

@SpearSusie_RCN

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