Photo By Jim Hughes | Fort Rucker CYS staff turned a former gymnastics area in the school age center into a...... read more read more
FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- The Fort Rucker Youth Center received a visitor Christmas weekend, but it wasn’t Santa spreading holiday cheer, it was Mother Nature causing extensive water damage to the building.
Subfreezing temperatures the night of Dec. 23 caused an air conditioner coil system to fail on the second floor of the mechanical room and water flowed freely throughout the building over the four-day weekend before it was discovered, according to Toni Hampton, child and youth services coordinator.
The youth center suffered major damage to the ceiling, walls, floors and even electrical damage, causing the building to be closed for an estimated 18 months while repairs are made, Hampton said, adding that youth center programs were immediately moved into the school age center.
Losing an entire facility barely caused a stumble for CYS, though, thanks to the efforts of the dedicated staff at the SAC and youth center, Hampton said.
“Our staff made this move as seamless as possible for our youth and families of Fort Rucker,” she said, adding that while hosting both programs YC hours were changed to Mondays-Fridays from 2:30-5:30 p.m. to fall in line with normal SAC hours. “The youth center and school age center staffs have worked together as a team to continue to provide a great program for middle school and teens. They have created an environment similar to what youth would see at the youth center. The staffs’ dedication to the program has been amazing, and they have demonstrated great resilience and teamwork.”
Youth and parents also played their parts in making the transition a success, Hampton added.
“The youth and parents have been understanding and provided us with positive comments on how the staff have handled the situation,” she said. “We want to thank the parents and families for their patience and understanding – we will continue to communicate any changes or updates with the youth and their families.”
But there is a downside, as some families elected not to make the move to the SAC, but Hampton is hopeful they will come back as programs are ramped back up.
“Unfortunately, our attendance numbers have decreased because of the move,” Hampton said. “However, the youth have their own space in the facility and we are planning to start offering special events again.”
Those events have already begun as the middle school and teen staff teamed with Army Community Service and the religious support office to offer Teen Palooza Feb. 24. The program will also team up with the SAC staff to offer skate night the third Friday of each month, and plans are in the works for even more Friday events in the upcoming weeks.
For more information on youth events on post, call the SAC at 255-9108.
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2023 09:58 |
| Story ID: | 439453 |
| Location: | FORT RUCKER, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 54 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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