McConnell youth center battles holiday boredom

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jessica Lockoski
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  As the holidays near, some parents face the prospect of having hyperactive children or bored teenagers hanging around the house.

The McConnell Youth Center can help. It offers a variety activities to keep children positively engaged.

"There is always an increase in traffic (here) during the holidays," said Steve Atkins, the McConnell Youth Programs manager. "On a normal day during the school year, the center will have roughly 30 youths visiting the center. During the holidays, with school out, the number of visits will double."

The center is located in base housing and offers activities for children ages 9 to 18 years old. Mr. Akins said children can make different arts and crafts, play basketball, shoot pool, play board and video games or hang out with friends and talk.

"Teenagers are a strange brood," said Mr. Atkins. "They can keep themselves occupied with some of the most mundane things and will get bored if there is activity going on all around them. We have a really good group of 12 to 15 teens who spend a lot of time at the center. I think as long as their friends are around, they don't get bored, and it's always fun when friends are there. They have their own room, where the younger children can't 'bug' them."

During the winter holiday season, the center is setting up special bowling trips for teens and pre-teens, and on Dec. 23, it will be showing holiday movies throughout the day with free popcorn.

Instead of opening up at 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, the center will open for the holidays at 1 p.m. They will be closed Dec. 24 to 27 and Dec. 31 to Jan. 2.

Recently, Air Mobility Command received $150,000 from headquarters Air Force to fund youth camps for the upcoming year.

Mr. Atkins said some of that money will be a great help to McConnell's youth center because of a drop in funding from organizations like the United Way and the Combined Federal Campaign.

"Unfortunately, our youth program was one of those whose funding was discontinued," said Mr. Atkins. "The money was used to offset membership fees and provide reduced cost programming."

Youth center staff submitted proposals for three camps they would like to offer McConnell children for 2010 - adventure, arts and crafts and bowling camps.

"New funding from the command will help offset much of the costs involved in operating those camps and will help keep the price of other programs down," he said.

During the Year of the Air Force Family, AMC is increasing awareness about existing programs that are in place to enhance the lives of Airmen and family members.

While this continues, Mr. Atkins also reminds parents that Team McConnell youths are in good hands at the youth center.

"I think the primary way we support the parents is just by being here," he said. "Parents know their children are somewhere safe with adult guidance.

For more information, call the Youth Center at 759-4070.