History of the LCYC

Eleven years ago several ministers and community leaders, saw a need in Giddings.  Elementary school students were being released at 3:00 pm.  Many of these students had parents who worked and had no place to go after school where they could be supervised.  There was no community center in Giddings.

                Giddings Independent School District had built a new elementary school six years earlier, gutting and abandoning the old elementary school.  I approached the school board and worked on an agreement.  The district would lease the building for one dollar a year if we could form a 501(c)(3) organization and raise funds to refurbish the building.  And we went to work.

                The Lee County Youth Center was formed as a charitable organization.  Grants were obtained to refurbish the leaking roof, restore the gutted kitchen, fix leaky plumbing and replace all old air conditioners including the large $35,000 unit to cool the main cafeteria.  Volunteers replaced the ceiling and floor tiles damaged by the water, painted walls, and landscaped the grounds.

                We set up a curriculum to address the community needs using the Youth Center primarily as an educational experience.

                Donna Orsag, a retired teacher, principal, and English as a second language instructor, set up the curriculum.

                As the children arrived, we fed these children a meal.  As Donna noted, hungry children cannot learn.  We got a federal grant to fund the feeding program.  After the kids were fed, they met with mentors and volunteers to do this homework.

                The mentors were 12 high school students – six Junior and six Seniors – who we paid to work with the kids, providing needed jobs for these high school students.  The kids brought their homework assignments from their teachers and they had to complete and master their homework assignment before the mentor would sign off.  For students who had problems with English, Donna set up special study programs so that the students would become proficient in English. When homework assignments were completed were the children were allowed to go to the gym or one of the classrooms for games.  Then the parents or guardians would pick these young students by six.

                The program worked.  Students that were once failing now began making A’s and B’s because they understood their lessons.  Many students struggling with English no longer needed help after a year or two as their English grew superb.  Above all scores on State mandated testing soared.