Kingswood Youth Center's
Spring Recap!
A proud KYC member, after she found out she won an award for her essay on mental health
News From The Staff

Dear Friend,

How are you? How are the teens in your life? We ask because, in spite of improvements, these are challenging times amidst the ongoing pandemic.  This is especially true for our community’s teens because let’s face it, the teen years can be challenging times under the best of circumstances. According to a March Healthline article, four in ten adults have shown symptoms of anxiety and/or depression during the COVID-19 pandemic and this rate may be even higher for teens. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve all taken great measures to protect our physical health: PPE, social distancing, increased hand hygiene measures, etc. However, as we remain cautious and vigilant, it is important not to forget the measures that can be taken to preserve our mental health.

The Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest challenges New Hampshire teens to explore the realities of mental health experiences and to share their messages with state-wide peers and community members. A student from the KYC’s Club 121 individual mentoring program challenged herself to submit an essay to Magnify Voices. Her mentor, Mara served as her advisor and helped her edit her honest and powerful submission.

We are so proud to announce that this student was one of ten contest winners! She was honored at the annual celebration in mid-May and received a cash prize. But most importantly, her hard work and talent contributed to her personal growth and will surely serve to inspire others during these challenging times. She is a frequent participant in all KYC programs and the founding member of Kingswood Regional Middle School’s Writing Club. On behalf of the KYC, we’d like to say a huge congratulations!

The KYC continues to work hard to provide safe and healthful, educational, recreational, and social opportunities for our local teens. This school year, we’ve offered more hours of programs than ever before. The KYC Kupboard, our free food pantry, remains open for families in need. We are very excited to be launching an expanded summer program which will commence as soon as school’s out!
Please enjoy these highlights from a fun and busy spring at the KYC.

Thank you for your support!

In health,

Zachary and Mara
Board of Directors 
President 
Kevin Sanzenbacher 

Vice President 
Matt Lawlor 

Treasurer 
Gregory Eldridge  
 
Secretary  
Gina Jewell  
   
At Large 
Barbara Lobdell
David Maher
Don Smith
Jim Savage
Kevin Van Brunt 
 Maria Found
 Martha Krause 
  Pete Llewellyn
 
Staff
Executive Director 
Zachary Porter  

Teen Director 
Mara Michno  
‌

Have you been considering donating to the Kingswood Youth Center?



NH Gives in an annual 24 hour online fundraising event hosted by the NH Center for Nonprofits. The giving event begins June 8th at 5pm and closes June 9th at 5 pm. There are many different incentives for participating organizations that receive donations, such as matching donations, prizes, and more. To see all of the incentives, check out this link.

As you know, the KYC offers so many opportunities to our local teens which are more important than ever before. If you have been considering donating, this would be a great opportunity!
.
Follow this link to donate when the event opens!

Thank you in advance!
Feeding Our Teens
KYC understands the value of fresh, healthy foods for our teens and their families. We are pleased that through a variety of resources, we are able to provide this for them.

A group of community members came together a handful of years ago to make monthly contributions to the KYC's food program. Their support helps the KYC continue to offer a hot meal with every program, along with nutritious snacks. A KYC volunteer brings in baked goods, fresh fruit, and cheese trays.

The KYC also takes advantage of its relationship with the New Hampshire Food Bank and uses it to stock our KYC Kupboard, which is KYC's own food pantry. Fresh, frozen, and shelf-stable foods are always available for KYC families to take home.

Over April Vacation, staff sent teens home with ingredients to bake banana bread. Teens logged on to a video call with our staff member, Mara, and walked through this creative baking activity together! It was a fun (and delicious!) way to spend an hour together when we would have normally been apart.


Thank you to all who make our food program possible!
Hiking, Biking, and More!

We have been enjoying more time outside these last few months! With our fleet of bicycles, our group is able to regularly go on rides on the rail trail. Albee Beach tends to be the destination of choice!

Over April Vacation a group hiked Cavery Mountain located in New Durham. It was a great hike, with beautiful views!

We also have also been enjoying going on group walks. A stroll down the rail trail while chatting and joking around is a great way to spend an afternoon.
Earth Day
This year to celebrate Earth Day we put together a few activities. First, a group collected trash around the area. They were enthusiastic and did a great job! Then we moved inside to make some artwork out of recycled materials. We had some really creative pieces handcrafted by KYC teens!
Trash pick-up for Earth Day
Art made from recycled materials
Art Projects
Our Art Corner has had a lot of use lately! Our group of teens has loads of artistic interest, creativity, and ability, and we are running with it! In the art area, you can find students working on anything from drawing, painting, paper marbling, to a real, working machine that deposits small treats! Woodworking projects have also been in the mix, which is a great life skill.
Beautifying the KYC
We know the Center's teens take a lot of pride in the KYC. But when they get their hands dirty and put in some time to make the center more beautiful, it really shows their sense of ownership. Over the course of a few days, teens helped overhaul our KYC Kloset (our own, free thrift store), clean and re-organize the KYC Kupboard (our own, free food pantry), and repaint benches and picnic tables.


Thank you for all of your hard work, KYC'ers and KYC volunteer, Diane!
KYC Photo Gallery!
The KYC is a 501(c) 3 organization and all donations are tax deductible. Thank you for your consideration.