By Leigh Taylor
What was once the Southeast Family YMCA on Memorial Drive will soon be the YMCA Youth and Teen Development Center. The renovated building and outdoor space will offer non-school hour activities for youth and teens including academic enrichment, teen leadership development, sports, wellness, swimming, volunteer activities, and more. This will be a facility of the East Lake Family YMCA which is part of the Metro Atlanta YMCA.
This new Y facility and other youth program providers will offer and organize programs, events and activities. Improving academic achievement, empowering healthy living and developing cause-driven leaders, three of the Y’s main initiatives, are the center’s goals.
“This is a great addition to this area and to the east side Atlanta community,” says RC Pruitt, executive director of the East Lake Family Y. “It will give young people a space of their own along with supervised programs focusing on volunteer service and leadership development. We look forward to partnerships with the schools and other youth-serving organizations.”
The groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday, August 21. Groundbreaking speakers included: Atlanta Councilmember Natalyn Archibong, DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson, Chris McGillis of SunTrust Community Capital, local teen Abigail Simmons, YMCA of Metro Atlanta board chairman Joe Arnold, and East Lake Family Y executive director RC Pruitt. The center, located at 1765 Memorial Drive near Clifton, is scheduled to open the first quarter of 2013.
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