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The Brainerd Baxter Youth Center

Welcome To TheShop

Empowering Youth to Reach Potential

What do empowerment, connection, and loitering all have in common? TheShop!

For more than 10 years The Brainerd Baxter Youth Center, known locally as TheShop, has been a place for Brainerd Lakes Area youth to connect, be recognized, and grow toward independence. Everything we do is rooted in respect and inclusion and is modeled to and practiced by the youth we serve.

After school snacks and evening meals occur daily and offer a consistent source of nourishment for the hungry bellies that teens and young adults bring with them everywhere. Music, games of all varieties, art, laughter, loitering, and sometimes a nap on the couch are part of the experience of being at TheShop.

Educational programs, volunteer opportunities serving within our community, critical thinking development, and hands-on job skills are other facets of TheShop designed to help bridge opportunity and achievement gaps many of our young people experience.

We partner with a diverse group of community organizations, service clubs, and individuals to support youth as they transition towards independence. TheShop strives to remain a safe, accepting space where youthful energy is harnessed into creative fuel by providing opportunities to explore potential, build lasting relationships, and establish personal connections.

VISION

The Brainerd Baxter
Youth Center

The Shop

A non-profit charitable organization committed to providing community support to all teens and young adults as they transition into independence and adulthood.
We are a space where youthful energy is harnessed into creative energy with opportunities to explore potential, build lasting relationships, and establish personal connections.

MISSION

Mentor youth to improve overall wellness and develop assets to support healthy life transitions.

Translation: We are safe and soft place for youth to land where they will always find a listening ear, supportive mentors, and a space to be themselves.

“Belonging comes the minute you walk in the door; no strings attached”

GOALS

PEEP our goals
(See what we did here?!)

*Provide youth with meaningful educational, vocational, social, and spiritual opportunities.
*Embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion while encouraging healthy intergenerational relationships and cultivating mutual respect.
*Empower youth to be critical thinkers and thoughtful community members.
*Promote opportunities for positive development and participation in our local community.
*Support and value youth voices as assets in our community. They are our future and it is BRIGHT!

Facebook Activity

Join us this Friday and the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the Month The Conflict Resilience Lab facilitated by Hallie Pond!About the Conflict Resilience LabConflict shows up everywhere — with friends, family, at school, and in the community. This twice-monthly youth workshop at The Brainerd Baxter Youth Center is a space to learn how to handle conflict without shutting down, blowing up, or losing yourself.Through real conversations, hands-on activities, and shared experiences, participants will build skills for navigating tough moments, understanding power dynamics, setting boundaries, and speaking up with confidence. Youth will explore real conflicts from their own lives and practice tools they can actually use — not just in the workshop, but every day.This is a supportive, judgment-free space where young people can show up as they are, learn from each other, and build resilience for whatever comes their way.The Conflict Resilience Lab takes place monthly on the 1st and 3rd Fridays @ 4pm beginning March 6th.About Hallie PondHallie is a mediator, conflict resiliency trainer, and founder of Truespace Consulting based in Pine River, MN. She partners with businesses, non-profits, schools, and youth centers to enhance communication skills, build somatic tools, and cultivate skills for navigating conflict with greater dignity, compassion, and courage. All profits generated from Truespace organizational engagements go to fund youth programs across Greater Minnesota. Learn more about Hallie and Truespace here: www.truespaceconsulting.com ... See MoreSee Less
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Join us today at 4PM for our ECMC Life Talks series! ... See MoreSee Less
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Join us for SxTalks at The Shop!Free Pizza and $5 for attending! ... See MoreSee Less
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PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING OUR YOUTH CENTER

Support TheShop
Hours

TheShop
723 Washington Street
218-454-0009

Wednesday – Saturday
3:00pm – 8:00pm

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Copyright © 2024 TheShop Brainerd. Support by Midwest Captions, Inc.