The Door, located on Main Street in Bellwood, celebrated its fifth anniversary last month, and continues to work to provide a safe and fun environment for area teens.
It started in 1996 when the director of FrontLine Ministries, George Palmer of Tipton, initiated Camp Impact for area teens.
The purpose of this summer camp is to provide a fun environment for kids, with state-of-the-art facilities, speakers, games, activities and time to spend with friends. The camp is geared toward any area teen who likes to have fun, meet people and participate in new experiences. This year the camp program is scheduled to be held July 20 -25 for kids in grades seven through twelve.
The concept for The Door was originated after Camp Impact. Palmer realized there was a need for a place for kids to “hang out” in Bellwood after school. It did not matter what the socioeconomic background of the kid was, he realized a lot of kids had no where to go after school for whatever reason.
Through FrontLine Ministries, The Door was started, with Dave Taylor as the director and John Sandu the assistant to the director.
During the school year, The Door is open right after school lets out until 8 p.m. During the summer, The Door is open from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed on Sunday.
Middle school and high school age kids are welcome anytime, and the number of visitors to The Door has grown over the past year from 15 kids to 25 – 50 kids on a typical school day. The attendance has also grown over the summer months as well.
When the kids come to The Door, there are snacks ready for them. During the school year, Taylor helps the kids with homework and spends quality time with them.
Taylor said the most important thing is just asking kids how their days were and then really listening to the responses to let them know that someone cares.
“What makes this place work is personal relationships,” said Taylor, adding that his personal slogan is, “Bringing love to their world everyday.”
He said some kids share some serious life issues with himself or his wife and other staff members because the kids feel like they have nobody else that will listen to them.
The facilities at The Door keep the kids busy. There are two game rooms upstairs and a pool table. There is a computer system that was donated by someone in the community. There is also a new dining room table, cabinets and materials to serve snacks and meals.
Meals are served every night at The Door. Recently, Coaches Corner has been providing pizza one time a week for the kids.
Other volunteers give their time to The Door. A man from Tipton visits once a week to give guitar lessons, and a woman visits once a week to teach crafts.
With the work that goes on during the regular year at The Door and for the summer Impact Camp, FrontLine Ministries is sponsoring its Second Annual World’s Largest Yard and Bake Sale as a fundraiser. The event is scheduled for Saturday, June 28 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Door in Bellwood, which is located next to the post office.
All proceeds from the yard and bake sale will support scholarships for area teens going to Impact Camp this summer.
Taylor said they hope to take 50 kids on scholarship to the camp as well as kids who will pay their own way.
Donated baked goods and yard sale items are needed, and Taylor said that five truckloads of donated items were just picked up on Monday. He also said they have a garage full of items to sell. He said there is still two truckloads of items to pick up and that people from Bellwood, Tipton and Altoona are contributing to the sale.
To donate items, or for more information about The Door, contact Taylor at 935-9971.
