YouthBuild Open House
On Friday, March 27, 2009, the United Methodist Children's Home YouthBuild Program hosted a ribbon cutting with the Centralia Chamber of Commerce for their new facility at 325 South Locust in Centralia.
Congressman John Shimkus was in attendance and praised YouthBuild for helping the youth focus on getting their lives and education back on track.
Mayor of Centralia, Becky Ault, welcomed YouthBuild to the community and wished the best for the youth.
Dr. James Underwood of Kaskaskia College, which is a major partner of YouthBuild, spoke on how important education is to the youth and the community.
Clete Winkelmann, President/CEO of United Methodist Children's Home, thanked everyone in attendance for all of their help in making YouthBuild a successful program. Also, Mr. Winkelmann excitedly announced the purchase of a house located on the corner of Frazier and Perrine in Centralia as the next house that YouthBuild will rehab.
YouthBuild is a program of the United Methodist Children’s Home that serves Marion and Jefferson Counties and is a federal grant funded program through the U.S. Department of Labor. The program serves 16-24 year old high school drop-outs who are of low income. This program provides educational instruction, vocational training in construction trade and leadership development aimed at helping these young people become productive and self-sufficient members of the community. Kaskaskia College is a major partner of YouthBuild, providing GED instruction. In addition to classroom work, the participants are active in community service projects; housing rehabilitation, and assisting in new home construction.