Our History

The Drayton Youth Centre

At the time, the youth in our community were needing a safe place to hang out with their friends in the evenings. The town had very little to offer aside from organized team sports. It was through the persistent effort of five people beginning in 1995 – Andy Knetsch, Allan Deboer, Hilda VanGyssel, Maurice Veldhuis, and Laurie Langdon – that the youth centre was established. It was not easy to convince everyone that a centre for youth was needed and finding a location proved difficult as well. Thanks to this committee and many caring individuals, churches and service clubs who supported financially as well as the Pentecostal Assemblies for providing a location, the basement of the Pentecostal church soon became a welcoming and vibrant place every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evening. The small basement space became inadequate for so many youths and a new, more visible location was found on the main street in 2001. It was an exciting day opening the doors at 21 Wellington St S., our present location, dedicated to providing a safe, Christ-centred and inclusive second home for young people. The larger space gave us room for a pool table, an air hockey table, a basketball arcade, a video game centre, a board game/craft table, several couches, two washrooms, a kitchenette, and a storage closet. We are open two nights a week for all youth with the younger ones going home at 9 pm. We are blessed with about 15 dedicated volunteer supervisors, trained and vetted, who cover one or two nights a month working in twos. The DYC is governed by a volunteer board of five directors but there are opportunities for more board members and volunteer supervisors. In 2021, we undertook a complete renovation of our facility and are very proud of our updated warm and welcoming space. Please come to visit and play!  A most heartfelt thank you to you for your support, both financially and in prayer, over these many years.

Past Events