Dear Friends,
Over the last four years, King Street Center has experienced incredible growth. Since 2022, the number of youth and family members connected to our community has increased by 209%. We’ve launched new programs, expanded opportunities and experienced a 130% increase in enrollment for teens, strengthened support for families, and welcomed more young people through our doors than ever before.
But growth has never been the goal. Listening has.
Every step forward has come from listening closely to what youth and families told us they needed: more support, more opportunity, more belonging, and more spaces where they feel safe, joyful, and seen. What we’ve learned is when communities feel heard, growth follows.
At a time when many families are carrying fear, heaviness, and isolation, creating spaces rooted in joy and connection matters deeply. Whether it’s a child laughing in our hallways, a teen discovering confidence through new opportunities, or more than 200 community members gathered around tables at our recent Family Dinner, these moments remind people they are not alone.
That is the kind of community we are continuing to build together.
As you read through this newsletter, I hope you see not only how far King Street Center has come, but what becomes possible when people choose to invest in belonging, opportunity, and one another.
With Gratitude,
Where Joy Found Us
In This Room, We Belong
The kitchen filled first.
By midday, the rhythm had begun with pots simmering, laughter echoing off the walls, the steady hum of something being made together. Families and staff moved in and out of the space like a well-rehearsed dance, passing ingredients, sharing recipes, checking in on one another. Sambusas being prepared in an assembly line of the women of King Street Center. And our team, hard at work transforming the gym into a beautiful dining room and one that mimics what our families experience at home. Rugs were laid down with bolsters on the floor, inviting comfort into the space.
By evening, the building felt different.
The front doors opened, and they kept opening. One by one, then in groups, then in waves of families, children, grandparents, mentors, friends. Coats draped over chairs, greetings layered on top of greetings, the kind of energy that builds when people are not just arriving, but arriving to each other. The room swelled to more than 200 members of the King Street Center community, making it our largest Family Dinner in recent memory.
And still, somehow, it felt intimate.
At each table, there were small moments unfolding. A caregiver exhaled as they settled into their seat. A young person introduced a friend. Two people who hadn’t seen each other in weeks embraced a little longer than usual. Plates were passed. Stories were shared. Laughter rose and fell like music.
In a time when many families are feeling the weight of uncertainty, when federal policy changes and rhetoric are making them feel increasingly isolated, targeted, and unsure of where they belong, our April Family Dinner offered something powerful in its simplicity… a place to gather openly, to laugh loudly, to celebrate one another without apology.
A place to show up without fear.
A place to be seen and known.
A place where joy wasn’t just possible, but alive everywhere you looked.
For some, walking through our doors that evening was not a small decision. It meant choosing connection in a moment when isolation can feel safer. It meant trusting that inside these walls, they would be held, not just by staff, but by a community that continues to show up for one another.
That’s what filled the room more than anything else. Not just the food, though there was plenty. Not just the numbers, though they mattered. But the unmistakable feeling of belonging. Of people wrapping their arms around each other, literally and figuratively, and remembering that they are not alone.
At King Street Center, we often talk about safety in terms of structure like secure entrances, trusted staff, consistent programming. And those things matter deeply. But there is another kind of safety that can’t be installed or scheduled.
It’s built.
It’s built in kitchens where families cook side by side. It’s built at tables where stories are shared and heard. It’s built in moments like this, when a community chooses to gather, even when it’s hard.
This is what joy looks like right now.
Not something separate from hardship, but something we choose alongside it. In times like these, joy can feel complicated. It’s easy to carry guilt for experiencing happiness while so much tension exists in the world around us. But joy is not avoidance. Joy is resistance.
On April 13th, joy filled every corner of King Street Center. And for a few hours, more than 200 people experienced what it means to be part of a community that shows up with care, with courage, and with open arms.
That is the space we are committed to protecting. When you invest in King Street Center, you help create one of the few spaces where young people and families can experience safety, belonging, and joy together.
With your support, we can continue creating these moments where community remains stronger than fear.
From Lemonade to
Youth-Led Innovation
As King Street Center has grown, so has our Middle School Program, expanding from serving 30 youth to 45 this year alone. But this growth hasn’t just been about numbers. It’s been about listening closely to what young people are telling us they need and evolving alongside them.
For 28 years, our Lemonade Stand has been a beloved tradition and the first introduction to entrepreneurship for countless youth. But as our middle schoolers grew more vocal about the kinds of opportunities they wanted, it became clear the program needed to grow too. Over the last year, youth have helped shape a new entrepreneurship experience designed to better reflect their interests, creativity, and goals for the future.
Instead of simply continuing a long-standing tradition because “that’s how it’s always been done,” our team worked alongside youth to reimagine what meaningful leadership and career exploration could look like at this stage of adolescence. The result was a more dynamic, youth-driven Summer Entrepreneurship Project that emphasized collaboration, decision-making, creativity, and real-world skill building.
Throughout the summer, middle schoolers will be working individually or in small groups to develop and launch their own ideas, products, and community-centered projects while building skills in teamwork, communication, budgeting, marketing, problem-solving, and leadership. Rather than following a single model, youth will have the opportunity to shape projects around their own interests and passions, giving them greater ownership over the experience and creating space for creativity, confidence, and exploration to grow.
That evolution reflects a commitment to creating spaces where young people feel heard, challenged, and empowered to help shape the experiences built for them. As more youth walk through our doors each day, we remain focused not just on growing, but on growing intentionally in ways that respond to the voices, talents, and potential of the young people we serve.
Celebrating the First ACE Graduating Class
This year, King Street Center celebrates a major milestone: the first graduating cohort of our Academic & Career Exploration (ACE) Program.
When ACE launched, the vision was to ensure young people graduated with more than a diploma. We wanted every participant to leave with confidence, real-world experiences, meaningful relationships, and a clear pathway forward.
Today, that vision is becoming reality.
Eight ACE seniors are graduating and taking their next steps into college, workforce training, career pathways, and international learning opportunities. From right here at University of Vermont to as far as Berlin, each of our graduates leaves with a blueprint beyond graduation, delivering on the promise of ACE.
We are incredibly proud of this remarkable group of young people and cannot wait to see where their futures take them.
Keep Joy Within Reach!
