By Avalon Loube
KAWARTHA LAKES-What is Fenelon Falls’ new youth service?
Well, the BGC’s Chief Executive Officer Amy Terrill explains: “The Loft (the service’s official name) is a safe and supportive place for youth between the ages of 12 and 17 where they can go after school, try new things, and participate in interesting programs. They can enjoy mentorship from our caring adults that work for BGC, meet new friends, and get the kinds of support that they need in order to seek greater opportunities and be more successful.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of America, was founded as the Boys Club by three ladies in Hartford in 1860. BGC Canada, formerly named The Boys and Girls Club, originated in 1900 when the “public playground movement”—an effort to provide children with safe environments and direct youth to advantageous and appropriate environments—was enacted by a group of locals who saw youth, specifically young boys, facing unfortunate situations and lacking social play areas in Saint John, New Brunswick. The “Every Day Club” was formed, and the journey to giving youth equal opportunity and an engaging and safe childhood started.
Amy says BGC as an organization “focuses on children, youth, and families. They are the core of what we do. So when we are designing programs or services, it’s always based on the needs identified for children, youth, and families. They just come first in our books. We like to be very engaged with the community as well. So we have leadership at our board level, with representatives from our community, and then we also often have opportunities like [the] Fenelon Advisory Council to engage with other members of the community to gain insights into specific needs that might help us in terms of delivering the right services at the right time to the right people.”
In 1929, the Every Day Club was officially recognized and established. Then in 1947 it was renamed the Boy’s Club of Canada, and in 1948 it was finally declared a national nonprofit. As the years passed by, the club gained large numbers of attendees (male and female identifying), volunteers, and financial contributions, even to the calibre of a $1,000,000 endowment from the Boys Clubs of Canada Endowment Fund, a resource to create the official supply for the club. The name of the organization was officially changed to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada in 1974. Decades later an additional name change from The Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada to BGC Canada was made to erase any preconceived perception of gender or age expectations of BGC attendees.
BGC now has 665 clubs in Canada, sees 166,000+ youth, and provides those in need with 8.1 million meals and snacks each year. It is providing youth with opportunities to improve their skills, get involved in sports and extracurriculars, develop interpersonal intelligence, and feel at home in a safe environment that tries to aid those with social disadvantages. The society reports that 91% of youth who visit BGC establishments have improved self-acceptance, 93% have honed and learned to trust their talent and skills, and 96% have greatly developed their social connections.
Beginning in 2014 youth could attend what is now a BGC establishment in Lindsay called “The Warehouse” to access programming, day camps, skill-building activities, and local trips. The Loft’s creation started when BGC identified the “need to grow our new services. Specifically in Lindsay, we would have a great cohort during the school year, Monday to Friday, and then we would lose contact with [youth] over the summer. We didn’t have the resources to offer programming in the summertime, and then we’d be starting from scratch again in September.
So as that discussion was happening, we also identified the fact that there was a youth at the time who was a Fenelon High School student who was trying to come to the new services in Lindsay, and it was impractical for them. So we started looking at where the gap was and what services we were offering to the community. Fenelon was identified as a very significant gap. When we first started talking about it, it was early in 2024. That was when we really, truly examined the gap in our youth services.”
In the summer of 2024, a committee formed that included Jim Armstrong, Carol Milroy, and many other passionate volunteers who shared a vision of having a location for youth services in Fenelon Falls. After months of brainstorming, meetings, fundraising missions, and location scouting, Fenelon received its first taste of a BGC Youth service in the form of “The Loft.” In the bottom of the United Church a variety of activities, games, and snacks were supplied to youth a couple of days a week after school. At this location there were also events like karaoke nights and a “Thrift for Prom” station. Youth started to trickle in, and soon a core group of roughly 5 were attending regularly.
The Loft and individuals involved in its creation were extremely grateful for the open arms of the United Church and their incredible flexibility and attitude toward the youth service. Even still, as the facility was out of downtown and had obvious religious connotations, a search for a more permanent location was in progress. In October of 2025, Home by Tim + Chris grew interested in the community facility and got involved, hoping to see more youth become exposed to the establishment if it were in a more central location in town. In doing so, they provided The Loft with a space to rent at 30 Colborne Street, Fenelon Falls, in a prime location with large windows, an area with heavy foot traffic, a finished and open floor plan, a small but valued kitchen, a bathroom, a private room, and a decent-sized backyard area with garden boxes.
The relocation was a game changer. Now given an opportunity to be visible to youth walking home, businesses willing to donate, and close access to popular local establishments, The Loft gained more attraction and attention. The youth service now welcomes youth from grades 7-12 (aged 12-17) and has more than 50 youth registered. An average of 20 attend programming on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 2:30pm to 6:00pm.
At The Loft, youth are welcome to get active, play pool, eat provided snacks, spend time with positive adult mentors, and build new friendships, all while safe in a supportive environment. A myriad of different activities and programs have also been hosted at the location, for example, a healthy relationships workshop, consistent activities like DIY claw machines, tote bag painting, an 8-week music program that started late April of 2026, and a weekly cooking program.
The Loft is working hard to not only create an inclusive, creative, and safe environment for youth after school but also to cater to the direct needs of Fenelon. This town has seen food insecurity became a large issue, so the Loft, as a new social institution in the community, is doing their part. Each Tuesday, the youth work with a staff member to learn how to cook a meal or dessert and then are able to take some of the food home. This allows them to satiate any hunger, learn valuable life skills, and eat around a table with other kind people, all things young individuals may not be able to do at their home.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that [BGC] programs can change lives. We’ve seen how some young people, when they first come through our doors, are facing a variety of challenges or barriers. By developing positive relationships with them—like taking time to understand their needs and then helping to direct them to either other community services or opportunities at BGC—we’ve seen them definitely find the means to address those challenges. I would say, in Fenelon Falls, some of the great examples have been around leadership opportunities for youth. I think we’ve made a real impact on some young people who have taken on leadership opportunities.”
Another one of The Loft’s main priorities is ensuring there are no barriers to participation, which is why all youth access The Loft free of charge. It is understood that in this economic world, money can restrict access, so BGC is trying to uphold the notion that inclusivity and community should not have a price tag on them. However, this ideal situation could not be possible without the support of generous and active members of the community who have made donations to allow improvements to be made to The Loft. Along with financial contributions, such as the gracious donations of more than $13,000 from the 100 Women Group and the donation by the Fashion Show Fundraiser hosted by the Butterfly Boutique, physical ones have been processed as well. Dirt for the garden out back—in an effort to teach youth the importance of gardening and caring for the Earth, board games, food, (menstrual) hygiene products, or even people donating their time by volunteering.
The Loft, however, still faces a variety of challenges, transportation being the most prominent. Since Fenelon Falls Secondary School is a feeder school, and many students from Langton Public School live far away, so it is not possible for some youth to access the Loft, as guardians may not have the opportunity to drop off and pick up.
This creates barriers for youth in the Kawartha Lakes, specifically in and around Fenelon Falls. To surpass some of the previously listed issues The Loft is looking for “food. It’s such a core component of the programming. We’re always grateful for either monetary donations towards nutrition programs or donations of food. Also, things that are opportunities for programming, so whether people might have various sorts of activities or sports-related items might be really great for program engagement, like the pool table donation. I would also love to see more volunteer engagement. It might be folks who have something to share, whether it’s activity-based or a multicultural kind of approach, so we have representation.”
In terms of future goals, Amy is amazed by the incredible support and opportunity the Loft has been given, so the timeline for new dreams has been sped up. “We achieved a space so quickly. We didn’t anticipate having that opportunity within the first six months or so. So it’s so funny, because a year ago, the end goal was to have a dedicated space, but we’ve already got that. So I would say our next future goal would be a [more] diverse age cohort. We’re skewing currently toward wonderful grades 7 and 8, and we would like to see some growth in the older ages. Also, it’s our intention to kind of re-energize the idea of a Youth Leadership Council in Fenelon Falls [a group that is in charge of sharing the youth perspective in meetings about The Loft]. I would also say growth in hours and consistency [for youth participation]. We have consistent hours right now, but lengthening our hours and having more engagement in different opportunities outside the regular hours that we’re keeping now.”
Further, in collaboration with The Loft, a discussion on the Fenelon community creating and establishing more recreation facilities is a future goal. “Having those available in the community would be really important [for community development and interaction], and the Loft can engage with those spaces by taking kids on trips.”
The Loft’s creation truly was a collaborative effort between Fenelon’s passionate volunteers, donors, and youth along with the experienced individuals at BGC. Their cooperative communication and commitment are the reasons youth now have a service that specially accommodates them. Amy describes the interaction with Fenelon and its people as “so amazing. I’ve always understood this about Fenelon Falls. I’ve never lived there, but from afar, I’ve noticed how really community-oriented and passionate people in Fenelon Falls are about supporting and developing programs and services for the community. We’ve seen that come through very clearly in our brief time. Working with the Fenelon community…we couldn’t ask for a better group of people who support a new program and really give us the insights that we didn’t have. Even though we’re all part of the same municipality, we didn’t have those local insights, and they were critical for us in getting started for sure.”
The BGC, its employees, volunteers, and even youth work tirelessly and with great passion to aid large issues like food insecurity, physical & mental health, learning & development, and building safer communities. The Loft is providing kids with a welcoming environment that allows youth to grow, learn, and explore, and the Fenelon Falls community members and the BGC hope to continue to grow the location and its amenities to create more opportunities for youth.
If you would like to support Fenelon Falls in securing a safe, fun, and community-based youth service for Fenelon’s younger generations, you can email Carol Milroy at [email protected].
This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum and was written by student Avalon Loube.
If you want to make a donation to the museum, you can e-transfer to:Â [email protected] or mail a cheque to :
Maryboro Lodge Museum
Box 179
50 Oak Street
Fenelon Falls, ON
K0M 1N0
