‘The Grove’ to provide new space for St. Joseph teens
By Ashley Luthans
A new after-school program is being offered by the YWCA for teens ages 12-19 in St. Joseph, providing a large space for teens to relax, learn and meet new people.
The Grove, located on the corner of Faraon and Eighth streets, is a program and space for middle and high schoolers to help them learn new life skills through weekly workshops and simulations.
Zach Ellis, the youth program manager at the YWCA, said the program is meant to empower teens.
“We believe that empowerment is just a vital role in enhancing our community,” Ellis said. “In order to do that, we found that through life, like teaching life skills and providing real-life simulations for kids to get involved in and to experience that they develop these skills that they take out into the community.”
Ellis said that he wants The Grove to be a place where teens can do things that they enjoy, like play games, read and more.
The Grove will be open from 3:15-5:45 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, beginning on Monday, Oct. 14.
On Mondays, the focus of the program will be simulations and STEM and on Thursdays, the teens will work on life skills.
“We know that our teenagers and adolescents now are the future contributing citizens of our community,” Ellis said. “So we believe that through these shared experiences and workshops that we’re working on, we can help create these awesome life skills that we don’t honestly think about as adults.”
The Grove has many events planned for teens in St. Joseph, including a scholarship workshop from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17.
