Milford Youth Center Receives $25K Gift

A donor who does not want to be identified contributed $25,000 last week to the after-school and summer programs at the Milford Youth Center, among the largest gifts received by the town facility.

The Youth Center runs free, after-school programs for children ages 8 to 14. More than 300 children have signed up to participate, with more than 150 attending daily, said Jen Ward, the program director.

The fee-based summer day camp, which includes both weekly and by-the-day options, draws about 70 children every week. The center continued the daily option because many parents who work part-time can afford just a few days of care for their children.

All of the programs are supervised. The Youth Center has a director, Sidney DeJesus, and Ward, a program coordinator, and relies on many volunteers to run its programs for teens, including Find Yourself Friday dances and special events, such as the Dressed Up Not Messed Up Fashion Show.

The largest continuing contributors to the Youth Center are the United Way of Tri-County, and the town, which provides the salary for the director and covers the building utilities.

Several large in-kind gifts have been received in previous years, including by Consigli Construction. This latest gift is thought to be the largest cash gift received by the center.

The Milford Youth Commission and DeJesus will determine how the cash gift will be spent, said Ward, and everyone is excited about the possibilities, which could include allowing more children to attend the summer day-camp, or providing more financial help for needy families. Other than the donor specifying it will go to the summer or after-school programs, the gift is not restricted.

Staff first learned of the possibility of a large gift a few weeks ago, she said, and prepared a letter that explained how the programs benefit Milford youth.

On Friday, through an intermediary, the Youth Center staff received the check and turned it over to Town Hall financial staff for deposit.

"There was a rumor it was going to be large," she said. "We were shocked."