Youth Guidance Receives New Roof from John's Island Foundation, Individual Donors

Phil Barnes, Executive Director, and Marcello Ferrari with Rhyne Roofing and Restoration on the Youth Guidance roof.

Youth Guidance Mentoring Academy has a new roof just in time for the new year thanks to the generosity of the local community. Funding for the roof replacement was provided by a generous $75,000 grant from the John’s Island Foundation, a matching donation from Jeff and Shari Wampler, Mary Lewisy, and additional support from individual donors.

The Youth Guidance building, located at 1028 20^th Place, was constructed in 1961. It originally served as Vero Beach’s public library. Youth Guidance purchased the building from Indian River County in 2017.

“There’s a lot happening under our roof – every day, we provide life skills, vocational training, tutoring, and healthy meals for children living in Indian River County,” said Youth Guidance Executive Director Phil Barnes. “Our roof was in dire need of replacement after years of withstanding severe weather and rain. The new roof will help ensure the safety of our children and allow us to launch into our capital campaign.”

Youth Guidance is currently raising funds to completely renovate the interior of its 8,600 square-foot facility. The new plans have been drafted by a local architect and include a workshop for trades programs, a commercial kitchen for culinary arts, dining room, technology lab, library, and multipurpose room.

“I can’t tell you how great it is to have a brand-new roof over our heads,” Barnes said. “This is going to be a game-changer for our kids and our organization.”

Youth Guidance Mentoring Academy is dedicated to enriching the lives of Indian River County youth through mentoring relationships that inspire trust, self-esteem, and positive futures. Founded in 1973, Youth Guidance provides daily meals as well as one-on-one and group mentoring programs to children and young adults ages 5-24 with limited resources.

After school, students complete their homework under the supervision of trained Youth Guidance staff. Then they participate in group mentoring programs that include vocational training, life skills, and STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, arts, and math). All programs and meals are provided free of charge thanks to the generosity of the local community.

If you are interested in learning more about Youth Guidance, please call 772.492.3933, or visit www.youthguidanceprogram.org.

Rhyne Roofing and Restoration placing material on the Youth Guidance roof.