In the 1960s, parents and community leaders recognized in the changing behaviors of young people a need for a safe, supervised place that teens could call their own – a teen center right here in the neighborhood, where kids could be themselves, find new friends, and learn to make positive choices. The result was the Winnetka Youth Organization, incorporated in March of 1969. Liz Caldwell, one of the founding teens at the WYO who now works at the University of Kansas Career Center, said the WYO programs helped turn her “from rebellion to activism.”

Caldwell says, “In the late '60s, it was a challenge to get adults to understand that privilege did not equal happiness, nor did it mean we could accept all of the things we saw as injustice. Given the opportunity to make the world a better place, most teen-agers will choose to make that difference.”

Forty years later, the WYO is still making a difference. In August of 2008, 7 teens and 2 staff members traveled to Cherokee Nation in eastern Oklahoma, where they spent a week volunteering in the small, rural town of Kenwood. Teens and WYO staff refurbished community buildings, while they lived with and learned about the local people. During the week-long trip, teens shared a traditional Cherokee meal with their hosts, visited the Cherokee National History Museum, and toured the capital building in Tahlequah, OK. The 2008 Service Learning trip is part of an annual tradition at the WYO dating back to the 1980s. Each year, teens on the WYO Youth Board decide on a community to serve, and they plan the trip with Joanna Swift, the WYO Program Director. “The teens do most of the fundraising themselves. They really get into it,” Swift says. Teens have not yet decided where they will go in 2009.

Teens don’t necessarily come to the WYO – or “the Yo” as it is known to young people – because they want to make a difference. For WYO Alum turned Board Member Matthew Dolkart, the teen center provided a space “to just exist – with no requirements and no pressure.” He says, “The WYO is one of the few institutions that allows young adults to be themselves. As we grow older, we forget the tangible pressure to mature beyond our years.”

The teen center offers regular after-school programs and drop-in hours 6 days a week, during which anyone in high school is free to stop by. Concerts and Open Mic Nights are favorite programs for aspiring young musicians. CJ Tindall attended WYO concerts regularly as a New Trier High School student in the mid-90s. He says, “The Yo has always been a relaxed and fun place. And now as an adult I’m happy to be a part of the Board of Directors, where I can help secure the future of the WYO.”

Teens who come regularly can get more involved by joining the Youth Board, which offers opportunities to plan programs, participate in social service, and learn about non-profit business. Youth Board members make a commitment to complete at least 4 social service projects during the year, and these might include answering phones at WTTW, picking up trash in public spaces, or organizing food drives.

To celebrate 40 years of service to local teens and their families, the WYO will host a benefit dinner at Mirani’s Restaurant in Winnetka on Thursday, April 23, 2009. The event will feature a 3 course meal with wine pairings, followed by a live auction and raffle to raise much-needed funds for the WYO programs and operations. For more information or to order tickets, please call 847-446-0443 or visit the WYO web page at www.winnetkayo.org.