Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
On the heels of its fifth anniversary as an organization, Youth Athletics Recreation Development (YARD) Campus has announced it will be expanding its space in Yelm to continue its use for activities such as culinary courses, athletic training and much more.
On Saturday, Oct. 31, YARD Campus wrote on Facebook that it has grown through the dedication of volunteers, staff and the community over the course of the last five years.
Additionally, an opportunity for YARD Campus to expand its location, found at 305 Creek St. SE, Unit A, has arisen for the organization.
“We need help to make this dream a reality,” YARD wrote, on Facebook. “We will need to do some work to make this space into what we need for our classes and athletics, along with the cost of taking over a new space.”
A fundraiser has since been launched, and money can be donated to the organization at https://yardstudents.com/donate-to-yard-invest-in-local-kids.
In an interview with the Nisqually Valley News on Monday, Nov. 2, Michelle and Dustin Stephan, owners of YARD Campus in Yelm, said their organization is preparing to take over three additional units near its current location.
“We’re going to more than double our space, offer more classes, and we’re doing some fundraising to get that space ready,” Michelle said. “We’re hoping to provide more space for our athletic classes, with the potential of adding a commercial kitchen to expand our culinary classes.”
Dustin noted that the organization just awaits the tenants currently occupying the three buildings to complete their exit review and walk-through of the units before YARD Campus takes them over.
He’s hopeful for YARD Campus to receive the keys in the next week or two.
“We’re also going to use that space to expand and offer more Level Up Lounge opportunities for the middle school aged kids,” Dustin said. “It’s kind of a blank canvas for us to expand all three of our main divisions: life skills, athletics and academics.”
With the process of expansion comes financing the build-outs, and according to Michelle, YARD Campus is aiming to raise upward of $35,000 to support the expansion process of their organization.
She noted that one of the biggest expenses would be the addition of a full commercial kitchen. Additionally, Michelle said YARD Campus will need contractors to come in and open up the three units to create one large and cohesive space.
“Any gift helps, even by just sharing our fundraiser online,” Michelle said. “Upwards of a $25 donation is a thank you. $100 gets your name on a large plaque with our three divisions. Our athletics will be represented with your name on a baseball. With academics, your name will be on an apple. With life skills, your name will be on a chef hat. You can choose which program you really enjoy or which division you really enjoy and be represented there. We want to fill the sign as a big thank you to any of our donors and give them that recognition to be up on our wall in the future.”
According to Dustin, YARD Campus’ current athletic space is pretty confined — so the organization is currently determining how it can utilize the additional space to the best of its ability, while expanding on its current offerings. He said the expansions to current offerings could include additional strength and agility training spaces and a recovery area.
“That might be more of a longer-term goal, up to it including full length pitching tunnels and full length batting cages,” Dustin said. “Michelle mentioned our culinary division. Our culinary classes are among our most popular classes in our life skills division. Our current space is pretty confined in that area as well. We’re hoping we can bring in an oven or two, some additional counter space, and really build out a mock kitchen where students can come in and really learn a life skill on how to prepare meals, properly clean and do it safely.”
Additionally, Dustin said YARD Campus is exploring different date-night options for couples in the area to come in and learn how to cook together in an environment led by a culinary teacher.
With YARD Campus set to more-than double in space, the organization won’t be shorted with creative opportunities.
“Creative juices are flowing within the company,” Dustin said.
Michelle added, “We’ve been very, very creative and strategic with how we’ve been able to put our class schedules together. We’re hoping this expansion will let everyone have a dedicated space to continue to flourish and offer more activities for youth and their families.”
Michelle and Dustin both expressed their appreciation and gratitude toward everyone who has supported YARD Campus through their five-years of existence. They are grateful that the community has found value in the courses they offer.
“We just want to continue to provide more opportunities for youth,” Michelle said. “Whether it be our auto-lab classes that have partnered with Graham Auto Repair or some of our awesome community partners like Northwest Chevrolet, there’s so many people who have come alongside us and helped us get to where we’re at. We just want to continue and we love the ideas from the community and what they think the youth needs.”
Dustin added that the mission of YARD Campus is to be an organization for families and kids of the community to be empowered through athletics, academics and life skills building. He believes that empowerment through those three aspects will lead to more contributing members of society.
“YARD is trying to focus on providing unity and not division in everything we do,” Dustin said. “We’re just excited for this opportunity. Like Michelle said, the level of support through not only individual volunteers and donations, but companies like Graham Auto Repair and Northwest Chevrolet, who have been fantastic. First Finishers has been another fantastic partner in this growth, and shares the vision that we’re trying to put together and get built out.”
YARD Campus is set to celebrate its fifth anniversary on Saturday, Nov. 7, and will host activities for the community to enjoy from 2 p.m. through 6.
“We’re excited to see our growth as we hit this five-year milestone, and we’re excited to move forward,” Michelle said. “Our celebration will roll through 6 p.m. and into our teen center, the Level-Up Lounge. That is free for youth this weekend to help celebrate. All of the events on Saturday will be free.”
