The Youth Development Center (“YDC”) embarked on a campaign to raise $4 million to provide an outstanding setting and innovative programming for Aberdeen area children ages birth to 13-years-old in a state-of-the-art facility designed to house two of the Aberdeen Family Y’s premier youth programs: The Learning Tree and After the Bell. The Learning Tree was housed in a facility built in the early 1960s, and After the Bell is housed in a 25-foot wide retail space on Main Street. Each facility was ill-suited for its respective program and operates at or near capacity. The Y used the grant money to purchase computers for the youth. With the new facility completed, it has been able to help more Aberdeen families.
The Learning Tree serves infants through kindergarten-aged children and was licensed to accommodate 104 children; the new facility is licensed for 185 to 200 children. The After the Bell program serves students in first grade through sixth grade and is was licensed for 90 students; the new facility is licensed for 140 students