The IE’s Hill Teen Center Is Now a Realty – The Project Raised $791,424 on Giving Tuesday
Pastor Chris Reinhard of the San Bernardino Sandals Church in front of the building to be remodeled into The 10,000 sq. ft. Hill Teen Center. Groundbreaking is scheduled for January 2023.
The Hill Teen Center is now going to happen! The new center is named after the late educator and community leader Dr. Margaret Hill. The center will support teenagers suffering from homelessness, hunger, gang violence, drugs, alcohol, and poverty.
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF. – The Hill Teen Center, a new refuge for youth in the San Bernardino area, will provide relief and services to Inland Empire teenagers who are at risk for homelessness, hunger, gang violence, drugs, alcohol, and poverty. The center raised more than $791,000 recently on Giving Tuesday.
The ROGO Foundation, in partnership with Sandals Church, led the effort and will build and operate the teen center on the Sandals Church property in San Bernardino. Groundbreaking is scheduled for January 2023.
“We are very excited about what this money will mean for our community,” said Scot Camden, Advancement Director for the ROGO Foundation. “Our community banded together to make The Hill Teen Center dream, a reality. This center tells our teenagers that they matter to us and we will do everything in our power to help them lead healthy and happy lives.”
The Hill Teen Center is a 10,000-square-foot facility delivering FREE clinical counseling, tutoring, skill – and life-coaching, mentorship, and laundry facilities, as well as a safe and fun environment for teenagers to spend time with friends.
An energy-efficient laundry facility opens to students of surrounding middle and high schools, free of charge, allowing them access to the facility, which will include water-efficient washers/dryers (along with detergent, fabric softener, bleach, etc.) and a lounge for them to hang out in while they wait for their laundry. Watch a short video on the project: https://youtu.be/F3gx6RqmsQE
The project is estimated to cost $1.3 million to complete, and the money raised lets much of the work begin, as the organization continues to fundraise the remaining $510,000.
“The Hill Teen Center is very much aligned with my own vision for the broader community,” said Ken Ramirez, former Chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, and contributor to the project. “It provides a road map to make a difference in the lives of our young adults.”
Ramirez, an active member of the Inland Empire for many years, mobilized his network to get the word out about The Hill Teen Center and the Giving Tuesday crowdfunding campaign.
“My own childhood motivated me to want to bring hope to teenagers struggling with adverse conditions,” said Ramirez.
COURTYARD PATIO
This eco-friendly, drought-tolerant landscaped patio space will support various programming opportunities, including open-mic nights, life skill classes, and micro-concerts, while also being accessible to students to hang out with their friends or work on their homework. Watch a short video on the project: https://youtu.be/F3gx6RqmsQE
“One in ten youths in the City of San Bernardino is homeless. In the 2019/20 school year, 30,270 San Bernardino County K-12 students were identified as homeless or lacking secure housing. The problem is getting worse as this is a 6.6 percent increase from the previous year,” said Pastor Chris Reinhard of the San Bernardino Sandals Church.
“These factors, along with alcoholism and drug addiction, have left too many students and their families hopeless, with little belief that their lives will have any meaningful change. This teen center will start to change that,” said Pastor Reinhard.
“And after all, that’s really what it’s all about—delivering a beacon of hope,” said Ramirez, “helping to show that life has a lot to offer, but sometimes we need to be shown what’s possible.”
LOUNGE
A fully furnished and beautifully designed lounge space for students to rest, relax or even get some studying done. While safe and secure alternatives to hanging out on the streets are hard to come by, this lounge will serve as a sanctuary for teenagers—a place where they’ll feel safe to let their guard down. Watch a short video on the project: https://youtu.be/F3gx6RqmsQE
The Hill Teen Center is located at Sandals Church in San Bernardino at 3701 N Sierra Way.
The Hill Teen Center is named after the late educator and community leader Dr. Margaret Hill. Watch a short video on the project: https://youtu.be/F3gx6RqmsQE
For more information about The Hill Teen Center, go to TheHillTC.com, or call The ROGO Foundation at (951) 800-7865.
COUNSELING AND TUTORING
Partnering with licensed professionals and local organizations, several rooms and spaces will be available for free counseling to support students’ mental and emotional health needs and tutoring to broaden their academic/career opportunities in the future, as well as STEM spaces to enhance their learning.
About Sandals Church
It is a Christian church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and has an average weekly attendance of over 13,000 adults and children. The vision of the church is “to be real with ourselves, God and others.” Sandals Church holds services every Saturday and Sunday.
About The ROGO Foundation
We exist to develop the two critical components of healthy churches; the people that lead them and the places where they gather. We merge with struggling churches, remodel, and upgrade the facilities, and implement our proven ministry leadership model so that their legacies can continue with our resources and support. We also plant Sandals Church campus locations to further reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ.