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Charity Profile

Franciscan Youth Center

February 24, 2008
By Tyisha Manigo

 
 

CHARITY’S MISSION

The nonprofit Franciscan Youth Center is dedicated to providing children from disadvantaged Baltimore neighborhoods a healthy and safe environment where they can grow academically and socially.

BACKGROUND

The Franciscan Youth Center began as a community outreach program by the Franciscan Sisters of Baltimore (now known as the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi) in response to the rampant violence and open-air drug sales that plagued East Baltimore’s Midway-Barclay community in the mid-1980s. Parents appealed to clergy at St. Ann’s Catholic Church to establish a safe haven for their children during the after-school hours. On Oct. 4, 1985, the Franciscan Youth Center opened its doors.

Under the direction of Sr. Kathy DeLancey and, later, Sr. Claire Parenteau, the FYC offered a wide range of recreational, academic and cultural programs, including computer training and homework assistance, to children ages 8 to 17. In 2000, the FYC began its transition from a religious to a secular staff. The center serves an average of 110 children each day.

WHAT DOES THE FRANCISCAN YOUTH CENTER DO?

The FYC strives to maintain its traditions while creating initiatives that speak to a new generation, says FYC executive director Sandi McFadden, who joined the organization in 2001.

“We have tried to maintain every aspect of the Franciscan values of dignity, hospitality, respect, community and communion,” she says. McFadden has helped start programs promoting cultural awareness, parent involvement, and leadership and career development, as well as summer camps. The FYC now operates as a school-based program from the Waverly Elementary/Middle School. The center works with various local businesses and groups, including the Baltimore Youth Orchestra — which offers students violin, cello and bass lessons and a chance to play with the orchestra — and the Baltimore Inner City Outing, a Sierra Club group that offers FYC children monthly camping, hiking and other outdoor trips.

Today, the FYC serves primarily elementary and middle school children, with students promoted to junior counselors and mentors once they enter high school and college.

The FYC aims to provide a well-rounded program for children while overseeing their growth into productive adults.

“The beauty of our program is the richness of our continuity in the lives of our kids,” McFadden says. “We have had children who have come to us at 8 and 9 years old who we have been able to see, over the course of 22 years in existence, go on to college and professional careers.”

McFadden and the FYC also seek to train young people to help city children and their communities. The center counts students from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, The Johns Hopkins University and Morgan State University among its volunteers and interns.

“Because we’re using proven youth-development practices, I think the academic community recognizes that this is a good place for their students to come see in action the theories that they’re being taught,” says Cathy Haggerty, the FYC’s director of development.

The center’s volunteers are dedicated. “People get connected to FYC and never leave,” McFadden says. “[Those] who come in as volunteers to make a contribution end up getting more than what they were able to actually give. Our kids are so fantastic that they literally end up changing the lives of the people they connect with. They are such wonderful children.”

RECENT MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS/GRANTS/AWARDS

The Franciscan Youth Center was recently named one of six Maryland State Department of Education 21st Century Community Learning Centers. The honor recognizes centers that provide academic enrichment programs and services that complement students’ regular schoolwork, along with literacy and educational opportunities for the children’s parents.

FUND-RAISING EFFORTS

The FYC’s fund-raising goal for this fiscal year is approximately $500,000.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Dr. Pasquale Bernardi; Margaret (Peggy) Cronyn; John Dierkes; Alecia Farley; Tara Gallaghen; Pamela W. Gray; John W. (Chip) Guinee III; Catherine Hilbush; Erich March; Barbara Mobarak; Sandra L. McFadden (ex-officio); Sr. Lorraine McGraw, OSF; Sal J. Molite Jr.; Elizabeth Hergenroeder Pepple; Sr. Mary Catherine Thomas, OSF; William Williams; Tim Wood; Sr. Jodene Wydeven, OSF.

Volunteer Opportunities

For information, please call 410-235-3577 or visit www.fycbaltimore.org

FRANCISCAN YOUTH CENTER
528 E. 22nd Street
Baltimore, MD 21218.
www.fycbaltimore.org
410-235-3577

 
 
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