Oneonta Community Alliance for Youth (O.C.A.Y.)

2006-09-06:

ONEONTA TEEN CENTER OPENS Sept. 5th
OCAY-the Oneonta Community Alliance for Youth-invites all Oneonta area teens (7th-12th grades) to stop down and visit us at Asa Allison Memorial Building(The Armory) basement, 4 Fairview Street, Red door entrance 230-6 PM Monday-Friday; Fri and Sat 7-11 PM. After school arts focus for September includes T- shirt designing, signage for the center, and planning a mural. Friday night film and Saturday night music. Sept. Open house and Art Show date TBA. Halloween live music show; creative writing classes in October. The Teen Center is seeking donations, a big screen TV, ping pong, pool, and foosball table equipment. Donations are tax deductible. Info and inquiries- Ian Austin, Teen Center Program director, 432- 6588 or Kate O’Donnell 432-6113.

2006-08-02:

Skate Competition: David Bullock, who is our webmaster and also a previous judge at the summerfest skate competitions and a skater himself, has said that he is willing to help during the event. Nick Stillman, also former judge and skater, has offered to help out,too.

MUSIC: Dylan has the bands lined up. Stage-the city's stage is ruined by flood waters so we will use the one we constructed in May.

Teen Center update: The decision to spend money on building renovations is in the Finance committee chaired by Sean Farrell. I have called the Engineering Dept. and Rep. Maureen Hennessy re: this issue. Maureen suggests we use the 3rd floor for fall activities. We can't go in and paint or do anything in the basement until finance moves on this is gives the OK to Engineering Dept.

Part Time Director for Teen Center and Teen After School Program: Ian Austin-early 1996 OCAY member; designed our first T-shirt; graduated from college with a BA degree in art. He is committed to community and youth work and has experience working with youth camps. I have been recruiting expert people to do creative writing, videography, environmental, and health workshops. Chad Angelotti has also volunteered to help out occasionally; Hartwick students will be mentors and tutors.

Program for the Teen Center: As per students' survey responses, OCAY is designing after school activities in the creative arts-the schedule will include: 1 day civic engagement with a focus on environmental stewardship-this will be in conjunction with Pine Lake Environmental Center and will include hiking with biodiesel production, global warming and peak oil discussions. Other days the foci will be: creative writing, art/videography, health and wellness, and global awareness. When we get recreational equipment-pool table, ping pong, foosball, games- those will be available all of the time as well as tutoring offered by Hartwick College students upon request. Last spring, OCAY teen leaders discussed having FRIDAY night as movie night and showcasing locally-produced youth films. We saw Dylan Avery's "Loose Change" as part of that effort. Saturday nights will continue to be live music- focused-acoustic and electric. We will have limited use of the kitchen but will have a juice bar and a frig,blender, and microwave.

Grants: I have completed the grant for Otsego County Youth Bureau-this will fund the part time position. It must be resubmitted in the fall for next year's work at the teen center. I have also written to the Patrick Fund -1st United Methodist Church, Parisian Foundation, Dewar, Clarke Foundations, New York State Council for the Arts will be due again in the fall.This grant funds our musicians and events like SUMMERFEST. I will also write to: Corning Foundation, FOF-Future for Oneonta Foundation, and any other arts /youth organizations that I hear about. I have also done a presentation to Cornell Cooperative Extension regarding joint participation in a JC Penney after school grant program. At this time, Americorps and CROP can not support the after school program. I have also spoken to Hartwick about donating used recreational equipment; they have given us 2 computer monitors. The Town of Oneonta will also be contributing toward the budget-this will probably go toward stipends for workshops and programming.

2006-07-28:

OCAY’s SUMMERFEST 2006 is Saturday August 5th 1-6 PM Neahwa Park. Raindate is August 27th. OCAY needs volunteers to help with cooking(one hour shifts) at the grill. This is our fundraiser for the Oneonta Teen Center in the basement of the Armory. We also need help with setting up and judging the Skateboard competition.

2006-05-23:

We are beginning to get donations of items for the center. Things we need include:

TEEN CENTER NEEDS:

PING PONG TABLE &EQUIPMENT

FOOSBALL TABLE

POOL TABLE&EQUIPMENT

CAFÉ STYLE TABLES & CHAIRS

JUICE BAR&STOOLS

Working CD/DVD PLAYER

BIG SCREEN TV

INTERNET SERVICE

Working COMPUTERS

VIDEO camera/EDITING EQUIPMENT

TRACK LIGHTING

REFRIGERATOR

COFFEE/ESPRESSO MACHINE

BLENDER

Clean COUCHES/FUTONS

COFFEE TABLES

Clean AREA RUGS

GAMES&CARDS&CHESS SETS

SOUND BOARD

STAGE LIGHTING

DISCO BALL

Cool, working lamps-lava lamps

Desks, chairs

Stackable chairs

2006-04-24:

Award winning local documentary filmmaker John Miglietta is looking for 15 to 18 year olds interested in being the subject of a documentary in which young people will learn about local solutions to environmental problems. Filming to begin immediately. Expenses paid for field trips around NY State. Diverse group sought. Contact John at john(dot)miglietta(at)verizon(dot)net ASAP for more details....

2006-03-24:

We have new officers: Harrison Wright, President; Katylin McKay and Kurtis Moffett Co VPs; Dylan Youngs, Music Manager.
Teen Center in the Armory will be open Fridays 2-6 and 7-11PM and Saturdays 2-6, 7-11 PM on the third floor through May. In June we’ll move to 1st floor or basement.
For the April 15th event we are working on having a stage. It looks like the city might have one stored in the armory’s basement.
- Kate O’Donnell

2006-03-01:

We are moving ahead with the 501C3 thanks to Alan Zimmerman,CPA and Andy Puritz, Esq. who have donated their time to acquire this for us. This status will allow us to apply directly for grants for non-profits and other contracts. We will be creating a board of Directors so if you are interested, please let me know.
- Kate O’Donnell

2006-01-04:

Grants News: We were awarded $2000 from New York State Council for the Arts through UCCCA. This is the money that allows us to pay musicians. We are not restricted this year in where we perform as I applied for the grant in conjunction with Main Street Oneonta.
Survey: Our survey of teen interests was approved for distribution to junior and senior high school students and over 1000 copies are sitting in the office at Oneonta High School.
I completed forms for getting a 501C3 status. The city has asked us to proceed with this; it allows us to receive monies as an official non-profit organization. It also allows us to apply for a number of grants and to accept tax deductible donations.
We have OCAY pamphlets that were created by Erica Cartier, Hartwick College sophomore.
- Kate O’Donnell

2005-08-24:

Teen Center Space-While City Council voted unanimously to help pay for rent of $300 per month for use of the Telecenter, the owner of the building felt that there was a conflict of use between a teen center and other businesses there. So, we are still looking for a site. I will be talking with the new Superintendent of schools next week. We will be able to use the Armory for our fall events. Teen After School Program-Hartwick College has agreed to work with us on developing an afterschool program at the future Teen Center. The college’s President, Dick Miller, has also said that he would work with area groups, City Council, and OCAY to help identify and support a future site.(Hartwick is a partner in the Telecenter).

2005-08-:

Hello, I'm David. I'll be taking over for Brian Foley and doing the updates and what not for the OCAY website. I have some ideas of my own, and I'm always open to suggestions. I've started a Yahoo group for people to join and discuss OCAY business or whatever. Here's the link. Send updates you want posted and/or suggestions to [email protected]