TheShop

TheShop: Brainerd / Baxter's Youth Empowerment Center 

Teens and young adults are at a critical time on their paths toward adulthood. They share a need to explore emotions, learn healthy coping mechanisms, develop critical thinking skills, and discover their personal potential in a safe and trusting environment.  For some, this is a nurturing home or positive school environment, but for many young people who visit TheShop, this has not been their reality.

Food scarcity is real. Our 3pm After School Snack is often the first "meal" of the day. Our 5:00pm Dinner is never soon enough and leftovers rarely happen. We supply a Food Shelf, an Open Closet with coats, socks, and gloves, and fresh towels and blankets for youth who spend months couch-surfing as best they can.

We host monthly SxTalks, which pick up where our schools leave off to address reproductive health and education. Monthly LifeTalks help youth develop lifelong skills on various topics, including mental health, financial wellness, and first aid.

LGBTQ+ youth have a night to call their own filled with networking with caring adults, education, social engagement, and connections to peers through our RainbowRoad Club.

Girls Who Code Club and The Bicycle Recycle Project develop workplace skills and offer a place for youth to connect with peers.  

Game nights sport Pathfinder, Magic, Uno, or Dominion and engage youth in critical thinking, even though we know it’s the simple fun of table talk that brings youth together.

Service to Community Projects pay it forward as youth become vested in our community.

Using our community resources, we offer engaging opportunities for youth to build connections and a sense of belonging.  

TheShop empowers youth, especially those who live in the margins of our community, towards a resiliency network of people, places, and things to help support them on their path to independence.   

We want all our youth to have a sense of self-worth and a belief in their own unique capacity to succeed.  TheShop is Brainerd Baxter’s Youth Empowerment Space for all our youth.   

Click ~ Contribute ~ Empower

Empowering youth to reach potential 
Visit: http://theshopbrainerd.org/