North Medford Youth Center nears completion

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A youth center four years in the making could provide teens a place to ring in the coming New Year if a final fundraising push is successful.

Announced in 2005, the North Medford Youth Center, sponsored by Campus Life under the auspices of Youth for Christ, is in its final phase of construction near North Medford High School.

Coordinators say a downturn in the economy and sluggish donations have caused the project to take longer than expected.

Converted from a dilapidated three-bedroom house, the soon-to-open hangout has been refurbished as money has trickled in, primarily by way of volunteer labor and materials, donations and grant dollars, said Campus Life spokesman Bud Amundsen.

"We're actually in the process of beginning to move in, but before we're allowed to occupy the facility, paving must be completed," Amundsen said. "We had to go ahead and get started because of the weather situation, but we're still lacking some $5,000 for paving."

Beyond paying for the parking lot, an additional $30,000 in landscaping and facility upgrades will be needed for final completion.

Early this fall, the project faced a $75,000 shortfall. A handful of pledges, a $10,000 grant toward paving and $15,000 in proceeds from a recent auction garnered more than $40,000.

"We're really close to meeting our goal and the community has been very supportive," Amundsen said.

"We're moving forward as if we'll get the money. We've put out requests to local business folks that either have a stake in the North Medford community or maybe have connections with local families."

He added, "We're just really hoping people will get behind the project and help us get it done."

The half-acre on which the center is located was purchased in 2007. That was two years after a longtime Campus Life location on Crater Lake Avenue was sold in hopes of opening youth centers near North and South Medford high schools.

Eventually, Campus Life, which operates youth centers in Phoenix, Eagle Point and Gold Hill, plans to open centers near all public high schools in Jackson County.

Medford contractor Jim Ronda, who is volunteering as general contractor on the project, said the facility could not open soon enough.

"We find that so many of the kids in our valley are either latchkey kids or from broken homes," Ronda said.

"There are staggering statistics and kids who really need positive role models. We try to have a safe, positive environment for them after school to come where there are staff and volunteers to connect with the kids and provide some of what they're missing out on."

Once open, the center would be open before school, during lunchtime for students, after school and on some evenings for activities such as Bible study, movie nights, barbecues and tutoring sessions.

Amundsen said the centers would be an important link between home and school for teens.

"There are so many kids growing up without relationships that they need to thrive," he said. "Youth For Christ is really in the business of meeting those kids and connecting with them to provide healthy relationships."

"They really need someone to follow them and walk with them as they're trying to navigate the challenges of life and adolescence."

To donate to the project, call the Campus Life office in Medford, 779-6979.

Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at buffypollock@juno.com.

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