Group aims to take Sophos, turn it into community-driven resource for area children
By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
Southern Lakes Evangelical Free Church’s community outreach youth center Sophos will soon be going through some changes that like-minded community members hope will make it an even greater resource for the children of Elkhorn.
Under the direction of a steering committee driven by community members, the hope is to turn Sophos, an afterschool alternative offered since 2011 by the church, into the Elkhorn Area Youth Center.
Frank Raidl, a community member who is one of the driving forces behind the steering committee, said the group is looking to make the move from a church-run resource to a community-run resource for local children.
“I think everybody agrees that the youth center is a great thing to have in Elkhorn because the kids after school don’t know where to go,” he said.
Raidl said the sought after change over is because the program, while great for the community, has outgrown the abilities and energies of a single church. As a letter from the committee suggests, while Sophos is a success and serves a great need in the community, if the community were to come together it could do much more for the teens of Elkhorn.
“The church’s vision for the youth center is evolving, taking what Sophos currently is and expanding it through a partnership with the whole community,” the letter reads.
“The bigger picture is this: we firmly believe that investing time and energy in our youth will pay significant dividends for the youth and community.”
According to Raidl, the steering committee has applied for 501(c)3 non-profit status for the soon to be named Elkhorn Area Youth Center, which has allowed the group to begin seeking funding for the operation through grants and donations.
Once officially established as a non-profit charity, Raidl said the steering committee hopes to turn the operation over to the community, creating a Board of Directors made up of interested members of the community. Additionally, the committee plans to hire three part-time staffers, an executive director, an activities director and a volunteer director.
With an activities director, Raidl said the hope is that activities could be organized for several times a week, citing a time where a hairdresser came in to show students how they could do their own hair for prom and homecoming as an example. A volunteer coordinator, Raidl said, would allow them to set up a slew of volunteers where they would work maybe an hour or two a month, compared to now where some work as much as three hours a day.
Raidl said the hopes it to gather a source of funds through donations and grants to support a budget of about $60,000 each year, which would not only fund operating expenses for the building but also programming and an after-school nutrition option.
“If you have a kid who had his lunch at 10:30 a.m., the first thing he wants to do when he gets to the youth center is he wants something to eat,” Raidl said.
Working with and purchasing food through the schools, something which Raidl said the district has already agreed to, the youth center would be able to supply food to students after a long day at school.
Raidl said the hopes is to start with changing the signage and continuing to send out mails, which they recently started. After hearing back from donors and volunteers, Raidl said the hope is to do a volunteer meeting somewhere such as the Monte Carlo Room, to explain what they’re looking for and how to help.
Eventually, the hope is to take over the cost of rent from the church and by September of next year, the steering committee hopes to kick off the new youth center in full effect. However, have no fear, Raidl said the youth center will not be going anywhere while the process is underway and will remain open as normal.
How to help
The group has recently sent out several hundred mailings to community members and community businesses in hopes of collecting donations and even just the names of those who might be interested in volunteering their time toward the future of the Elkhorn Area Youth Center.
For more information on how to get involved, Raidl can be contacted at frank@hhfllc.net or letters can be sent to the youth center to P.O. Box 983, Elkhorn, WI 53121.
