Community Education and Youth Center Building Project
God has provided an opportunity to open a community education and youth center in Rio Puerco Acres in Fort Defiance. Gangs activity, drugs, and alcohol are too common in the housing areas on the reservation. There are too few structured positive alternatives to hanging out and joining gangs. The Starr family lived in Rio Puerco Acres, where Mr. and Mrs. Starr raised their 10 children and tried reaching the Navajo for Christ. The Starr's moved away and the house sat empty for many years, becoming a hang out for youth. Unfortunately, the house was heavily vandalized, resulting in graffiti, broken windows, holes in the walls. The house is structurally sound, but needed a tremendous amount of work to restore and convert it into a youth center and church. The opportunity to open a youth center in the heart of a neighborhood presents a huge potential to be an agent for change.
The dream of opening a student center is happening. Renovation began in January of 2009. Since then, various mission and volunteer groups have slowly transformed the building. A new pitched metal roof was put on to replace the old flat roof. This allowed for an upstairs to be framed in. The entire inside has been framed in and a huge fire place added. An addition was built on the back as well. New windows and doors have been installed. Commercial electrical wiring and plumbing have also been completed. The building looks like a totally different structure, which in a sense it is. The appearance may have changed, but the dream Mr. Starr had for it is the same - a place of love and safety!
We have funded the project through grants and private donations. We are currently seeking additional grants, and donations are always welcome. We must have the stucco completed by June 21, 2010. The gas, central heat and air must be installed by July 17, 2010. The funds for this portion of this project have been raised at this time!
When completed, the center will house a large 625 square foot recreation room that will serve as a wellness and fitness area and also have game tables. This room will also serve as a meeting hall. There is a skate park directly behind the center and the room's most important function will be a skater's church. Unfortunately, we won't have a half pike, but we will have a heart for the bikers and skaters and will attempt to design a service that will meet their needs.
The center will have a kitchen area that will serve as coffee shop. There will be a computer lab that will also serve as a space for small education classes and tutoring. The center will also have an office space that will one day provide a place for counseling. The second floor has several large storage areas, a loft for mission groups to sleep, and a classroom. Finally, the center will have an apartment in it for the director of the center.
Rez Refuge Ministries wants to be a light in the community through this youth center. We see it as a place of safety, a place of hope, and in the truest sense a refuge from gangs, domestic violence, drugs, and alcohol. The opportunities to be change makers are limitless. The center will be a place of acceptance through compassion and ministry.
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED? We want to finish renovating and bring life to this house through your support! Call it an extreme love makeover! First you can help us through your prayers and encouragement. Second, if you have a youth, civic, college, or church group that is looking for a mission opportunity this summer, please let us know. The youth center may just be the perfect project for your group. The home is being built with the collaboration of many people to make a huge project small!
Please check in on our website often as we will update you as the project moves forward. Check below for picture updates and schedule of groups planning to come out.
January 4-11, 2009: UC Berkeley and Southern California combined ACF groups
January 17, 2009: Fort Defiance Indian Hospital Staff
February 4-8, 2009: Woodland Community Church general contractor site visit
March 6-14, 2009: Alex Froom and Navajo Youth work week!
March 17-29, 2009: First Christian Church of Cookeville, Tennessee
March 23-29, 2009: UC Berkeley and Resolve (www.resolveonline.org)
March 23-March 30, 2009: Woodland Community Church
April 4, 2008: Community Clean-up and work day
April 5-10, 2009: Bidwell Presbyterian Church
May 24-31, 2009: UC Berkeley
June 1-7, 2009: UC Berkeley
June 14-18, 2009: UC Berkeley
July 10-18, 2009: Woodland Community Church
July 2009: Youthworks
March 3-9, 2010: Mount Pisgah Academy, Candler, North Carolina
March 12-20, 2010: Southwestern Adventist University
March 21-March 26, 2010: Project Pueblo (UC-Berkeley, UCLA, La Sierra University)
July 14 - July 18, 2010: Woodland Community Church, Bradenton, Florida
Greatest current need?
Donations for furnishing the center upon completion. Our goal of raising $50,000 in private funds to recieve a matching grant have been met! Thank you for your generosity in helping us achieve this goal!
P.O. Box 2016
Fort Defiance, AZ 86504
928-729-2658
Graffitied home exterior Front entrance Note the skatepark in back
Vandalized bedroom Damaged kitchen Living Room full of trash!
Future Youth Center and Church When Purchased
Demolition of the inside of the home
The end of the week, job completed
UC Berkeley and Southern California Mission Trip
Fort Defiance Indian Hospital Staff Work Day
Tearing down drywall from the ceiling, and removing the rotten roof!
This page was last updated: June 16, 2010
Woodland Community Church, UC-Berkeley, and So-Cal Mission groups. March 23-March 30, 2009
View from the skatepark Crane making quick work Almost half way done!
18 feet off the ground! Setting the last tress! Inside the main room
Look youth center Putting on the porch rafters Looking so nice!
First Christian Church of Cookeville, Tennessee
March 17-19, 2009
Framing out the addition Old courtyard ready to pour
Fill'er up! Level! Almost done Pouring the addition
UC-Berkeley and The McIntyres Tip of the spear! First Tress is lifted into place!
Taking off the old entrance way roof.
Glen McIntyre from Woodland Community Church, April 21-24, 2009
Bidwell group papering the roof and laying planks in the loft
Bidwell team work! (This was hard work!)
Bidwell Presbyterian Church, Chico California
April 5-10, 2009
Completed metal roof!
Windows, stairs, fireplace, and - thanks to Youthworks - a new paint job.
Front windows Side windows New stairway
New paint job! Looks nice without graffiti
New fireplace!
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Estimated total cost of the entire project. Current amount raised includes private funds and grants. Remaining funds includes the matching grant and remaining private funds to be raised.
100% of our $50,000 goal to recieve a matching grant of $50,000 has been met!
Taking out the old fence line and putting in the new sidewalk along the building
Southwest Adventist University, March 2010
