Community Channels:

•Dallam County

•Community

•School Districts

•Business

•Internet

•Cities

Staff:
Celle Hancock, Director
Kelly Richardson, Assistant Director

The Dalhart Youth Center was organized in 1955 by the now deunct Dalhart Civic League with the mission of serving after school youth programming. In 1988, the Center was revamped into it's own non-profit organization with the help of Dallam County, Hartley County and the City of Dalhart.

The new organization was given the mission statement:

"To provide entertainment, education and social service programming for the youth of Dallam and Hartley Counties..."

In answer to this mission statement, the Center has set up three primary programs:

1. Youth Activities
2. Parenting Programs
3. Literacy Programs

Youth Activities include traditional after school entertainment such as ping pong and pool and has incorporated in such activities as educational and cultural field trips and community service related projects. Additionally, the Center has joined in a collaborative effort with the Dallam-Hartley-Sherman Counties Juvenile Probation Department for activities which will work towards the prevention of substance abuse. This programs includes scheduled activity programming on high risk days and nights such as Halloween, New Year's Eve and Spring Break as well as hosting speakers, lectures and positive peer influence groups in an effort to give the youth of our area alternatives to substance abuse.

Parenting Activities include teaching parenting classes for the parents of children ages birth to 18, monthly parenting meetings with guest speakers and parenting related topics or themes. Additionally, the Center has collaborated with the Mental Health Association in Texas, Dalhart ISD, Dallam County and the Dalhart Area Childcare Center to bring the AmeriCorps © program to Dalhart. The AmeriCorps © program brings volunteers into each of the programs to work with parenting and literacy of children ages 0-8 in the Dallam and Hartley County Area.

Literacy Programs include Kindergarten through 3rd grade in school tutoring as well as multiple summer reading programs.

For more information on any of these programs, please contact the Youth Center at the address/phone/e-mail at the top of the page.