TheBurg

03.23 | THEBURGNEWS.COM | 19 A REAL PASSION Medard's is a safe place to learn, grow and sometimes fail, while staff strives to cultivate leadership skills. "What we're trying to do, more and more, is identify who will be leaders and allowing them the opportunity to step into some of those roles," Chambers said. ompson has done just that. Serving as an intern this school year, she participated in most aspects of the center, from the more enjoyable after-school- program to the more mundane paperwork and office duties. Medard's has certainly stuck with her. "I hope to pursue Medard's House at a different level," she said. "I hope to come on the staff eventually." When ompson described how she feels at Medard's, you can understand why she wants to make this her work. "When you walk through the doors and you meet the staff and the other kids, I just feel like there's a weight lifted off of everyone's shoulders," she said. "Like you can really be yourself." She described that, in school, students put on a persona, based on the environment. Not so at Medard's. ompson said that the musical kids, the sports kids, the band kids and the academic kids all come to Medard's. e center has a basketball court, climbing wall, homework tables, board games and the like. It provides homework help for those who desire it. "We've helped quite a few kids through tests they thought they weren't going to pass," Colello said. Twenty to 45 young people gather at Medard's on any given afternoon. When they arrive, their cell phones go into a pouch on the wall. Medard's provides transportation to, and if necessary, from the center. Students from Allen, New Cumberland and Crossroads middle schools attend, as do those from Red Land and Cedar Cliff high schools. During the darker winter months, staff provides rides to kids who live within walkable distance. "We even take kids that are living right here in the New Cumberland area—safety first," Chambers said. e center invites groups or individuals to come and share their particular skill or knowledge, to teach a trade, or to inform them about their organization. Medard's House is named after Medard Kowalski, who was part of a group of kids who regularly hung out at Colello's house. "He had a real passion for life," Chambers said. He tragically lost his life in a canoeing accident on the Susquehanna River in 2014. e following year, the Kowalski family and Colello formed Medard's House in his honor. "I think Medard would be really, really pleased about Medard's House," Chambers said. Data can help describe the success—how many young people attend, how many meals are served, how many programs are offered, etc. But some important things are immeasurable. "It's very hard to calculate that kids aren't doing something because you exist," Colello said. However, for each hour that youth are at Medard's, one can gauge what they aren't doing. ey aren't fighting, on social media, being bullied, scrolling, or "getting into stuff " that young people often stumble into. For more information on Medard 's House, visit www.medardshouse.org. Saundra Colello

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