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For 85 years, the Don Bosco Community Center has helped give Port Chester youths a lively encounter with the Church and also realize their important role as citizens.
Both the Community Center and Our Lady of the Rosary Church are run by the Salesians of Don Bosco.
“Our main mission is to the young, especially the marginalized,” said Father Richard Alejunas, S.D.B., executive director of the Don Bosco Community Center and youth ministry and religious education coordinator at Our Lady of the Rosary.
The center, open year-round, serves those from age 5 to 35 with programs such as the Boys and Girls Club-Salesian Oratory, summer day camps and a culinary school, to name a few.
The newly opened Niehaus-Cashin Computer Techonology Center teaches youths about computer coding and design. The center was named for Robert Niehaus and his wife, Kate, who set up a $1 million endowment, and Richard Cashin, who contributed a gift of $250,000.
Kids coming to the Don Bosco Center learn that “computers are not just to play video games,” Father Alejunas said.
Cardinal Dolan celebrated Mass at the parish church and dedicated the computer technology center during a visit on St. John Bosco’s feast day, Jan. 31.
The legacy of St. John Bosco lives in the mission of the center, which aims to enrich youths by developing their hearts, minds and souls. A highlight toward that end is the celebration of Mass each Sunday.
Erik Gonzalez, 19, is a regular Mass-goer, who is now part of the Salesian Young Adult Group and also serves as a volunteer. He first started coming to the Don Bosco center as a youngster.
“It’s always been like a home to me. I always got accepted here,” Gonzalez said.
Father Alejunas said, “The impact that the center makes on the community is huge.” For instance, the center has become known for its service on behalf of Catholic Charities’ Feeding Our Neighbors campaign, this year hosting a community-based dinner at which 300 people were served lunch on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King holiday.
“Not only does our parish seek out donations, but our parish receives donations,” Father Alejunas said.
The Boys and Girls club operates a dining hall and the parish operates a soup kitchen five days a week. Between the two programs, 200 to 250 people are served each day. “In a given year, we are serving upwards of 50 to 75 thousand meals,” Father Alejunas said.
While service is one aspect of the community center, other programs focus greatly on education.
“Education is always our mission, it’s important in forming the whole person,” Father Alejunas said. About 125 youths visit the center each day, including many who do not speak English as their first language.
The surrounding community is almost 70 percent Hispanic and Latino and 23 percent African-American, Father Alejunas noted. Ninety-five percent of the youths who come to the center attend public schools.
One of the center’s major programs is homework tutoring. Some 40 kids a day visit for assistance, particularly the children who are learning English. “The focal point is really making sure our kids are doing well in school,” Father Alejunas said.
Denise Martinez, 23, is a young adult leader and youth coordinator for Salesian Youth Ministry, which provides education and evangelization services.
She told CNY that she enjoys working with children at the community center. “You get to know these kids on a personal level,” said Ms. Martinez, a parishioner of Our Lady of the Rosary.
In her eight years of service at the Don Bosco center, she has proudly seen many youths grow up right before her eyes.
“They come in young and then you see them in high school and you know you helped them out through things in life,” she said.
As a Salesian, Father Alejunas said he continues to be amazed by “the spirit of God working and how receptive young people are to the charism of St. John Bosco.”
“We try to create a home that welcomes, a Church that evangelizes, a school that educates for life and a playground where friends can meet,” he said.
