True Colors Youth and Outreach Center Inc

True Colors Youth and Outreach Center empowers youth in Susquehanna County by providing a safe, inclusive space for life skills, education, mentorship, and creativity; helping young people prepare for life beyond high school.

We were incredibly fortunate to be gifted a beautiful historic church building to serve as our youth center. As the oldest Presbyterian church in our county, it has been well maintained for more than 150 years. While the building includes wonderful amenities such as a fully operational kitchen, a stage, offices, and several gathering spaces, it was previously grandfathered into code and now requires renovations before it can be fully used. The building is not currently ADA compliant and needs several important updates, including accessible bathrooms, wheelchair access, and a new roof.

For the past five years we have still been able to serve local youth by utilizing community spaces such as the library, Masonic lodge, school, and local parks. Currently, our programs run once per month from fall through spring and weekly during the summer. Our community has been incredibly supportive in allowing us to borrow these spaces, but having a permanent home would open the door to so many more opportunities. The kitchen could host cooking classes, the former sanctuary stage could become a performing arts space, the large basement room could be used for fitness, art, and media activities, and the gathering room would be ideal for tutoring and group programs. With a fully operational facility, we could offer programming on a nightly basis and create a place where youth can gather, build relationships, and find community.