For a half-century, the Martin Luther King Youth Center in Bridgewater has been a support system for underserved children in Somerset County. The non-profit was originally opened as a recreational youth center to provide activities for children and keep them off the streets. Over the decades, the center expanded to include educational after-school and tutoring programs and summer camp programs for children from low-income families who paid on a sliding income scale.
Currently, it serves over 55 children in the after-school program and 100 in the summer camp.
Based on Prince Rodgers Avenue in Bridgewater, the center serves children from ages 5 to 13 who live in Bridgewater, South Bound Brook, Bound Brook, Manville, Hillsborough and Somerville. Children are creatively engaged through educational programs that emphasize character development and leadership skills. The center offers a library, computer room and a team of certified teachers for each grade level.
“Children are tutored individually and in small groups,” says Rajni Chopra, who has been the executive director for three decades. “We collaborate with local school administrators to continually enhance our curriculum, especially in the areas of math, reading and language.”
The Center, which operates through funding from a variety of sources, including private donations, provides children with basic needs like snacks and dinner as well as transportation to and from the building. During the summer camp, children receive transportation along with a breakfast, snack and lunch. Although the cost to attend is low, some families still struggle to make the payments, but Chopra says the center works with them to find a way to keep children involved.
Currently, the Center needs to repave the parking lot, do maintenance on the school bus and make classroom upgrades. “We rely on the community’s help, whatever they can provide, whether it is a monetary donation or donations of time like volunteering or tutoring,” she says. “For example, we have a number of high school and college students who tutor.”
To make a donation or to find more information on the Martin Luther King Youth Center visit mlkycenter.org.