Starke County Youth Club Radiothon Scheduled for May 4th

The Starke County Youth Club is getting ready for its annual WKVI Radiothon fundraiser to be held May 4th.

The Director of the SCYC, Irene Szakonyi, said they recently had their annual evaluation.

“We had our annual evaluation this year, and our results were phenomenal,” she praised. “All of our sites were visited by the state, and out of all possible points we only missed two. It’s fantastic! We’re proud of our staff and kids.”

Irene tells us where SCYC provides programs.

“We have an elementary program at Knox, at North Judson and at Oregon-Davis. Also, at Oregon-Davis we have a Junior-Senior High School program.”

The Starke County Youth Club has a membership of over 600 students, and there are also activities in the summer where tutoring is available. There is still a waiting list as it costs approximately $700 a year per participant .

“We do our best to serve as many students as possible, but we have to do it in a way that is effective. So we keep a small student to staff ratio, 1:15, to make sure the students have the opportunity to learn, to really be safe, and to have great chances to grow with the adults who care about them.”

This year’s fundraising theme is “Year of Giving.” Irene said they would like to make it possible for donors to give throughout the year.

“Donors can contribute to club with cash, with check, or with a credit card. We can even do payroll deduction and automatic deduction from bank accounts. We’re encouraging our friends in our club family to reach out and support our kids in our year of giving program.”

Maggie Vogel is in charge of the Oregon-Davis Junior-Senior High School activities, Becky Pflugshaupt directs the elementary staff, while Andy McCarty and Melissa Smith are in charge at the Knox and North Judson sites.

We’ll be telling you more about the Radiothon as we get closer to the May 4th date. Between now and then, think about how you can support the over 600 students who take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Starke County Youth Club.