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Dear Community and Friends,

I found him crying alone on the playground, more out of embarrassment than anything else. I put my hand on his shoulder and asked what was wrong. He said, “I failed my math test. Unless I pass the next text, I am off the football team.” I told him it was okay and we were here to help.

That was two years ago. Marcus benefited from afternoon tutoring from myself and dedicated volunteers. By the end of four weeks he had mastered division and multiplications. He is now able to do multiplication by hand and memory. It made a big difference when he took the next test, passing it easily. Marcus now eagerly embraces math and tutors others in need of help.

This is what excites me and keeps me coming to Central Area Youth Association (CAYA) every day!

Since our beginning, we have served thousands of children between the ages of six – eighteen. In addition to their academics in our After School Homework Cafe where we provide tutoring, and mentoring, we still provide life enrichment programs that are most popular, whether it is sports; football or basketball, or cheer team, technology; coding, gaming, and also areas that allow artistic expression; music, drama, spoken word or art. Every year we have a minimum of 50 kids in all Sessions participating in our Summer Leadership Camp program. The youth that we serve now are the children and/or grandchildren of those who came through our doors at one time or another in their lives. It is a testament to our belief that every child and family is important, and once in the CAYA family, one is always family to us.

We are proud of what we have accomplished this year, with a small staff and numerous dedicated volunteers, who offer their talents and skills to coach, teach, train, cook, clean, provide accounting services and see to our IT needs.

We never turn a child away, but this does come with a price. We keep the cost of participating in our programs low. Registration is $50 per child. However, the real cost to us is $160.00 per youth served.

Your help is needed on a continual basis for us to to keep our cost low so that your contributions can provide scholarships, CAYA asks for your support of $50, (what we charge) or $160 (the real cost of services) to help us keep the doors opened to all children in need enabling them to benefit from our services and activities. However we want to emphasize that no donation is too small, we gladly accept whatever you can contribute,as every last one adds up to helping another child or family within our community. That is the reason we are still here, because we remain in the hearts and minds of the families and children we have served and continue to do so.

This has been an especially difficult time for many of the children who attend CAYA. 70% of the kids we serve come from families living in poverty. Their parents struggle to meet their basic needs. They cannot afford to pay the annual registration fee of $50 that provides access to all of our programs and any equipment and/or associated materials or fees except for field trips. We try to keep our program costs affordable, and depending upon the circumstances we are able to offer scholarships from donations that we receive so that we can accommodate all children regardless of the circumstances.

We have accomplished much this past year, and about to offer even more services to our community, especially in the areas of technology. Also we are spearheading with our partners, a program to support healthy lifestyles, i.e.; our “Let’s Get Healthy Cooking, Eating, and Moving” inspired by our previous First Lady; Michelle Obama. We will teach and instruct our youth and their families on how to cook healthy and affordable meals, how to purchase healthy affordable food, and the importance of physical exercise.

We continue our fund raising efforts to raise funds to meet all of our needs so that we can continue to support all of the vital programs we offer for youth at our facility or any other facility that we may have our program (s). Our partners have been very supportive over the years. We strive to honor their support by managing our programs in a cost efficient manner but still retaining the quality and above good deliverable outcomes for each child, always striving for excellence.

Everyday kids are safe, learning new skills, making friends, and getting help on their homework and participating in team sports.

Our mission is to inspire and enable all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, caring citizens through academic success, team sports and community participation.

We welcome your contribution at any level and all gifts or donations will help struggling families.

You can make a difference in the lives of the young people we serve through your gift and/or donation to CAYA. A simple donation can translate into a gift that will have a substantial and profound impact on the lives of the children and youth we are serving in the community. Feel free to drop off any gift items to us at CAYA. All donations and gifts are tax-deductible and will support the work of CAYA.

Thank you for helping us to make a difference in the lives of those we serve. Marcus’ self-esteem rose when he was able to pass his math exams.

Regards,
Joe Staton Executive Director CAYA




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All donations to CAYA go to achieve the organizations mission to facilitate the positive development of youth for the benefit of youth, their families, and the community by fostering and promoting the value of education, through sponsorship of academics, life skills, cultural arts, and athletic programs. These programs focus on the development and growth of individual character, responsibility, and group interaction for at-risk youth.

Thank you for your support!