Community rallies to help Dresden youth center out of bind

The community came together to help the Dresden Sidestreets Youth Center out of a tough situation.

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After renting the upper floor of the youth center for storage for many years, a long-term tenant left behind items packed to the ceiling in both apartment units, a release from Sidestreets said.

“Being a charitable organization, it was a very unfortunate situation that we were put into having to spend thousands of dollars in dumpsters to clean out the things that were left behind,” said Sidestreets board chair Lori Ouellette in the release.

“We operate on a very tight budget and all the fundraising dollars and grants we receive are needed to operate the youth center.”

For about 18 months, Sidestreets volunteer Corey North led the cleanup effort with his team, which included Moréna McDonald, Mike Noltie, Rob Ouellette, Morgan Mallette and Terry and Chelsea Knox.

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“We jumped right in when we heard about the situation,” North said. “The youth center building has been an important hub for the community over the years so the building means a lot to us.

“Helping to clean it out is our way of making sure the youth center can continue to provide programming for local youth.”

Local resident John Cummings of Convergint Technologies approached the youth center and wanted to get involved in the efforts, Sidestreets said.

Cummings spearheaded the demolition portion of the project and rallied the troops, which included businesses and organizations that were eager to help by providing labor and materials. These businesses included Jay Masonry, R Rentals, Honey Electric, Elite Windows and Doors, Cajka Farms, Thompson Farms, Dresden K40 Kinsmen, Ellis Motors, Convergint Technologies, CIBC Dresden and Lumberjack Home Building Center.

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Cummings and his team completed the demolition of the upper apartment units last weekend.

“It’s great to see all these businesses and organizations coming together to do something good for an important community organization,” said Cummings

“We are so grateful for the countless hours put in by our volunteers, businesses, and organizations,” Ouellette said.

“This was an overwhelming project and it is so great to see everyone coming together to help us out. We couldn’t do it without the support of our volunteers and community.”

Ouellette said the long-term goal for the space is to get it repaired and usable so it can generate revenue to support the youth center’s operations and make it self-sustainable.

Thanks to the Chatham-Kent Community Foundation and the South Kent Wind Community Fund, the center will also have a new roof later this month, she said.

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