MIDDLEBURY — Over February break, Addison Central Teens held a boatbuilding workshop. Three teens participated in building the hull of a 12-foot sailboat from Monday Feb. 18, to Friday, Feb. 22. They were given breakfast then went to the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center to start building. The teens worked with boat builder Ed McGuire and several other adult volunteers from St. Stephen’s church to build the boat between before going back to the Teen Center for lunch.
The workshop opened up the three teens’ eyes to a new type of creativity, and for one youth, sparked a potential career path. On the first day of the workshop, each teen was hesitant, waiting to receive direction from the St. Stephen’s volunteers. By the end of the fifth day, as the hull came into focus, every teen was engaged and able to not only find their own tasks, but to do them well.
To complete as the mast, rudder, jib and sail, the teens will return to the boatbuilding workshop held over their April break. They will also choose the color and name of the boat. Once completed, the boat will be raffled off to support the further efforts of Addison Central Teens. The hull of the boat is currently on display in the front window of the National Bank of Middlebury. Raffle tickets are available through ACT online at go.rallyup.com/act-boat.
Tickets are $10, and all proceeds will support programs at the Teen Center, which have included financial literacy, cooking, LGBTQ+ supports, and many others.
Addison Central Teens runs the teen center, which serves Addison Central School District and the surrounding area by providing teens access to supportive supervision, snacks, and increasingly enriching programming to teens after school.