The West Medford Afterschool Youth Club (AYC)

The West Medford Afterschool Youth Club (AYC/A Better Tomorrow Medford) operates out of the Community Center here at 111 Arlington St, Medford, MA.  It is intended to be a safe, welcoming and productive place for Medford youth, aged 10-13 or in grades 4-8, to come after school. It is open 2:45-6pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and Wednesdays 1:45-6pm whenever Medford Public Schools are in full session. The AYC provides youth with opportunities to complete homework, get tutoring assistance, access computing facilities, socialize, and learn informally and formally from adult leaders and peers. Special programs and youth events are held periodically.

Mission statement & Goals:Our mission is to provide youth with opportunities to complete homework, get tutoring assistance, build social skills, utilize computer access, and to learn from our adult and youth leaders, all to make them productive, educated, socially apt, aware and prepared for the future to come.

Our primary goal is to have mentors, youth leaders and the youth come together to produce a safe, fun and healthy experience.

By bringing in families from all areas and walks of life, we are building a community that can thrive into the future.

Structure:The Afterschool Youth Club is available every day school is in session (including early release days) from when the kids get dropped off from the school buses until 6:00 PM.  (*)

(*) Both Medford Junior High Schools and the Brooks Elementary School will drop the kids off on the intersection of Arlington and Harvard, three houses down from our facility.  Because the West Medford Community Center is a multi-use facility providing a variety of program through the day, we do not have the physical space for the kids on days the schools are not in session.

Programming:We provide space, time, and mentoring for doing homework for all the youth attending.  We have access to both computers, printers, and internet access for all the children, to facilitate homework assignments. (*)(*) We utilize paid staff, as well as work study and volunteer placements from Tufts University to support the kids with their homework.  Our internet usage has parent security software installed, and is always monitored by an adult assigned to our computer lab.

Additional activities will be provided to all of the youth on a daily basis.  Programming will reflect both activities that are planned by the adult staff, and those ideas the kids themselves generate, and will include (but not be limited to) sports and physical activities, cooking, arts and crafts, robotics and computer games.