Alive Center Partners with Community Christian Church in Aurora on New Satellite Location
NAPERVILLE, IL – The Alive Center in Naperville is bringing its free teen Drop-in hours for 6th – 12th graders back to Aurora in a new location; Community Christian Church in Aurora. Beginning January 6, 2021, the Alive Center is moving its former Alive @ Eola location here to better serve the Aurora community, with more space and a better proximity to downtown Aurora.
The Alive @ Community free Drop-in hours are expanding from two days a week to three to support teens in the community with teen initiated art, games, STEM programs, life skills, health and wellness and more. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, teens are welcome to #JustShowUp during the 2:45-6:00pm Drop-in hours.
Aurora native, Ady Rubio is a bi-lingual licensed social worker who will be leading the Alive @ Community satellite location. “I was first introduced to the Alive Center in 2016 when I was in my first year of the MSW program at Aurora University. As soon as I stepped into the Alive Center for my internship interview, it was an immediate connection. I loved everything about it and especially their dedication to the mission of empowering young people to step into leadership roles and find a sense of belonging. Alive became imprinted in my heart and mind, and I started to envision what an Alive Center would look like in Aurora. I am Aurora born and raised, and imagining the impact the Alive center could have on my community excited me! I remember driving through my hometown and scoping out empty spaces, and I would daydream. The impact the Alive Center had on me never left, and in 2019 I was honored to join the team, and now my dream I had so long ago for my Aurora community is coming true!”
Alive has impacted thousands of teens in the surrounding communities and will continue to do so more deeply in Aurora. Edward Bugg, Aurora Ward 9 Alderman said, “on behalf of the Aurora City Council, we are thrilled with the new collaboration between ALIVE and Community Christian Church. Given the Alive Center’s excellent record of impacting teens in a positive manner, we look forward to working with them as they help the teens of Aurora come ALIVE!”
In the east side of downtown Aurora, Community Christian Church is located at 78 S. Lasalle St. and is within walking distance to KD Waldo Middle School and a short drive from East Aurora High School and Cowherd Middle School. The 5700sq. ft. facility offers multiple classrooms as well as a large gathering space and state of the art performance venue. Community Pastor Rodrigo Cano says, “For quite some time I had been dreaming about a way to serve the students in our community; I know the need is here. Last year during our Breakthrough campaign, I asked God for an afterschool program. Never did I think God was already working to bring the Alive Center to Aurora. I know this is an awesome opportunity to serve and engage our community. Together we are investing in the next generation of leaders in Aurora!”
Alive will celebrate this new satellite with a grand opening celebration next year. Donations to support the Alive non-profit organization can be made by going to https://www.alivecenter.org/donate-now/. As well, donations made to the Alive Center on Giving Tuesday (12/1/2020) will support Alive @ Community.
If you would like to learn more about Alive@Community, please contact Ady Rubio at Ady@alivecenter.org.
Centrally located in north Naperville, the Alive Center provides teens with a unique place to connect, discover and come alive! Our mission is to be a Teen-Led, Teen-Driven© (TLTD) center focused on empowering the youth of today to become the impassioned, resilient leaders of tomorrow. As a nonprofit organization Alive offers free drop-in hours after school and over the summer as well as a myriad of programs, classes and events, designed to build confident and resilient teens.
On any given day at Alive one will find teen-led tutoring, mentoring and clubs as well as life skill classes such as unstructured art and dance, nutrition and healthy cooking, stress management, open music venues, creative writing and just plain fun! Alive is a place to belong and learn important life skills. Alive’s paid programming and facility rentals help fully utilize the space while allowing the community to support our local teens.