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The Salvation Army Opens Its Community Center in Tehachapi
By Jack Barnwell
Tehachapi News
TEHACHAPI—The Salvation Army opened the doors to its new community center at 538 E. Tehachapi Blvd. on Aug. 27 to a small crowd of parents and children, the first of many the organization hopes to serve in the coming school year.
After months of work, the new center greeted kids a place to play games, do home work and socialize.
The new center offers two table tennis sets, two foosball tables, several board games and a computer lab with three tablets and three laptops for kids to do homework.
According to Marget Willer, center director for Tehachapi Salvation Army, the new community service center will provide an area for children ages 12-17 to frequent between the hours of noon and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“We're very excited about opening up the center and we are looking forward to the coming year by providing a safe place to come to visit,” Willer said.
The Salvation Army moved forward with the development after it received a $100,000 grant from The Bakersfield Californian Foundation last year.
At the time the grant was announced, Tracey Cowenhoven, vice president of The Bakersfield Californian Foundation, said it was that community support which earned the Salvation Army the grant, from a field of eight finalists county-wide.
"The Salvation Army included eight letters of support for this project, from a variety of community members, and that, along with their active volunteer base, made the foundation's board feel that the $100,000 grant would be well-utilized," Cowenhoven said.
Volunteers and staff said planned programs include art and guitar lessons, tutoring lessons and a weekend basketball day camp.
The Salvation Army has worked with Tehachapi Unified School District for use of the nearby Monroe High School facilities, said Michal Knowles. Knowles, the new coordinator for the community center, started in June. She that enthusiasm has grown leading up to the center's opening and is looking forward to seeing it flourish.
“I think it's something that the community needs,” Knowles said “It is just a place to hang out and socialize.”
Willer said that the Salvation Army has six volunteers already helping with the new center. She added training for community center volunteers is more involved than with other Salvation Army programs.
Willer said that youth who want to use the community center will need to have parental or guardian consent to sign up.
According to Maggie Urias, a retired proofreader, the new center has become a welcome addition to the community, especially for an age group that needs something stable.
After-school programs are offered by local elementary schools, but not for middle school and high school.
Urias is the center's volunteer English tutor, with plans to help the students develop their voice.
“Everyone has a 'voice' waiting to be discovered and I want young people to find and develop their own “voice,” Urias said.
She added the new Salvation Army community center will help build more than just that.
“The focus is on developing interesting endeavors and creating relationships with other kids that last,” Urias said. “They'll (the kids) be able to explore all that here.”