Recently we had a contamination issue in our youth activity space, resulting in extensive damage. We lost furniture, toys, activity supplies, kids’ artwork, around 200 books, and other items that were essential for our daily youth programming. What a huge blow!
We are asking friends and partners to help restore and enhance this space that is vital for our families as they heal from their experiences of homelessness and instability. We’re blessed with an expansive 3,500 square feet of basement space that once was very cool for kids, and now it can emerge from the damage to become even better.
You can help in three ways:
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Shop Our Amazon Wish List – Our carefully curated list makes it easy to send new items directly to Joshua Station’s youth space
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Second-Hand Items – We can accept lightly-used sports balls, yard games, books, board games (with complete pieces), toys for age 6 and up, crafting and art materials.
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Financial Donations – Any amount toward our $10k budget would help us repair and enhance our youth activity space. Designate your gift to “JS – Youth Activity Space.”
“Adults have their many community spaces at Joshua Station,” observes our Youth Advocate Grace Dean, “but we cannot overlook how vital this youth space is. It’s the one space that’s theirs and they love it. They felt the loss of the space for many weeks after our damage incident, and experienced the emptiness after it needed to be cleared.”
The importance of the activity space was never so vivid until it was lost. “We definitely saw backsliding in their development,” Grace observes. “It showed just how important physical environment is for children.” The basement space represented safety, familiarity, and consistency—together with staff, interns, and volunteers gifting their presence.
In every youth activity, a high priority for Grace is making space for our children’s leadership, voice, and decision-making. They absolutely have risen to the challenge in planning what their future dedicated space might be. It began with architectural drawings of the floor layout supplied by Grace, and imagination supplied by the kids. “Close your eyes and dream!” Grace exhorted. Add colorful markers and stir. The result was a thoughtful array of ideas for physical activity, STEM learning, art activity, book exploration, table games, quiet time, and sharing food.
Still under lively discussion is selecting an official name. (“Activity Space” just won’t do.) “The Hangout” leads all ballots so far. Apparently there is also a secret hand sign for those in the know.
Many of us can reflect on our own youthful experiences of personal opportunity enriched by support from adults and peers—elements that made all the difference for our future lives. We may also have been blessed with childhood friendships that shaped who we are today. In the aftermath of their life upheavals, we envision our Joshua Station youth with exactly these possibilities, in a warm and engaging space.
