SnoValley Youth Hub here to stay
July 24, 2008
By Laura Geggel
The SnoValley Youth Hub – now synonymous with basketball and other Valley sports – has changed hands from Friends of Youth to the Si View Metropolitan Park District.
“We’re very happy we’ve been able to have the Hub for the past 10 years,” said Edward Belleba, president and chief executive officer of Friends of Youth. “It’s just in the best interest of Friends of Youth to concentrate on what it does best, which is to focus on mental health and substance abuse in the schools.”
SnoValley Youth Hub began in 1991 with the cooperation of both Snoqualmie and North Bend mayors, King County Government and the Snoqualmie Valley School District. Hub administrators received a $10,000 grant from King County to help it get started.
“From day one, we tried to have a philosophy with kids, parents and coaches that it’s all about kids having fun in a safe environment,” said Fritz Ribary, former mayor of North Bend.
Ribary called Hub “preventative maintenance” for children, but he wasn’t referring to any store-bought warrantees from Carmichael’s True Value.
“If kids have something to do and a place to go, they stay out of trouble,” Ribary said.
In the early years, the Hub program relied on a verbal agreement with the school district to allow Hub participants into school facilities after hours. Before he left office in 2005, former Superintendent Rich McCullough helped design a three-year written contract between Friends of Youth and the school district.
The contract, which expired in January, has been replaced with a year-to-year contract between the district and the Si View Metropolitan Park District. At the July 10 school board meeting, board members unanimously approved the new contract, which will continue until either side decides to terminate it.
Warren Sheldon, maintenance technician for Si View Metropolitan Parks, said Hub is important for Valley residents, especially for children in kindergarten through twelfth grades.
“Virtually every gym from October to March is filled,” Warren said, adding that many participants return to volunteer once they’re older in the basketball, wrestling, track and baseball programs. Hub also coordinates with Sky Hawks Camps, which manages a different set of sports activities.
The park district plans to expand Hub even further to include volleyball, skills clinics, flag football leagues, camps during school breaks and increased options for enrichment activities during lunchtime, school breaks and after school.
Executive Director for the park district Travis Stombaugh said he looks forward to Hub’s growth.
“It’s the biggest recreation program in the whole Valley,” he said.
SnoValley Hub adheres to the CARE principle, providing Cultural, Athletic, Recreational and Educational opportunities to more than 4,000 Valley youth. Prices for participation range from $15 to $400. The park district will offer scholarships to families in need.
Ray Wilson, assistant principal at Chief Kanim Middle School, helped develop the program and now serves as the school district’s Hub liaison.
“We met some of my kids’ closest friends through Hub,” said Wilson, who also coaches Hub basketball.
SnoValley Youth Hub teams mix students from different schools, allowing children from across the district to mingle with people they might not normally meet until high school.
Wilson said he was excited about the transfer of the program from Friends of Youth to the park district, citing the park district’s background in managing sports programs.
“Si View is more willing to expand to meet our youth and student needs,” Wilson said.
Sheldon said he is also looking forward to Hub’s new affiliation with the park district, but he acknowledged that they couldn’t do it without the support of the community.
“The whole Hub program is so successful because of our coalition with the schools,” Sheldon said.
Reporter Laura Geggel can be reached at 392-6434 x221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
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