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Mammoth Christian Youth Center gets a facelift thanks to some volunteers and the kids who use the center.
John Hernandez | Miner
San Manuel Miner
Last Saturday, March 22, a large group of kids and adults were lending a helping hand to Jesse Walker and the Mammoth Christian Youth Center. The group of volunteers included 16 kids and three adults from Bailey, Colorado Crow Hill Bible Church. They had come to Arizona to serve the New Life Bible Fellowship “Helping Hands Ministry” out of Tucson. Volunteers from New Life and the Tri-Community pitched in to help with yard work, minor repairs and painting at the Mammoth Christian Youth Center.
The Mammoth Christian Youth Center works with youth 12-18 years old in Mammoth and San Manuel. They offer free van transportation for kids in San Manuel. It is a non-denominational Christian youth group but even kids with no religious background can participate in their programs. “Sharing my faith is important to me,” said Jesse Walker who runs the youth center. “We do a lot of practical things in the community,” such as helping families in need of clothing or food, family counseling, and teaching kids life skills. “Kids get in trouble when they are not moving forward with life skills such as education, driving, work ethic, etc.,” said Jesse. The youth center has helped 120 students in the past five years but the numbers are down as people have been moving out of the area.
The youth program has helped many students get their GEDs by encouraging them and helping them study. They also have some generous donors that pay the $80 GED fee for those families that can’t afford it. They have helped kids with their driving skills and test. Sex abstinence courses and drug and alcohol prevention classes are made available to the youth at the center.
The youth center also has many fun activities that are supervised by their staff. Some of these activities include bowling, camping, and sleep overs. They have a church camp in Prescott that the kids can attend by working their way to camp. The kids do volunteer work in the community and participate in fundraisers. It teaches them to give back to the community and instills a work ethic.
The Mammoth Christian Youth Center is in need of funds. They are a 501-3C non-profit organization. All donations go toward activities for kids in the local community. They also collect aluminum cans that can be dropped off at 610 Old Highway 77 in Mammoth. If you would like to donate make checks payable to Mammoth Christian Youth Center or MCYC, P.O. Box 682, Mammoth, AZ 85618. If you would like to volunteer or have more questions contact Jesse Walker at 520-975-2653.
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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