Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware, Inc. is renovating a building in Dover with $875,000 in state and federal funding. The new youth enrichment center in central Delaware will help the organization continue to serve 2,200 children statewide, according to executive director Anya Lindsey-Jenkins.
The center is expected to open the Youth Enrichment Center to the public in fall 2025. It will be free for young people in the Dover area and beyond.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a mentoring networks with state- and local-level organizations. It pairs monitored adult volunteers with children.
She adds there has been a 15% increase in service needs in Kent County.
“There are limited resources for young people, and we just felt like this was the opportunity to service them in a larger way,” Anya Lindsey-Jenkins said.
The Youth Enrichment Center is about two years in the making. BBBS acquired the property last year. The Community Reinvestment Fund allocated $420,000 to the project, and $455,000 in federal funding.
Once building renovations are complete, it will have a teaching kitchen, a college and career lab and a media studio. There will also be outdoor space with a playground and multifunctional court.
The building will also become the organization’s new state headquarters.
Lindsey-Jenkins says BBBS have been doing work in Delaware for 60 years, and they hope the center will engage young people in Kent County.
“Young people need help,” Lindsey-Jenkins says. “They need assistance, and mentorship is a prevention mechanism.”
There’s been a significant rise in young people involved in crime in the area, according to Lindsey-Jenkins, and they seek to help young people find productive ways to use their time.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware, Inc. serves young people from seven to 18 years old. More information on the organization and how to get involved can be found at their website.
