Wyoming Valley Catholic Youth Center celebrating 75th anniversary

Mar. 5—WILKES-BARRE — Mark Soprano, Wyoming Valley Catholic Youth Center executive director, says as the CYC prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary, he can't help but think about all the lives that have been touched over those years.

"So many kids grew up attending the CYC, including myself," Soprano said. "I think about how my life and the lives of so many others would be different if we didn't have a place like the CYC."

This year the Wyoming Valley Catholic Youth Center will celebrate its "Diamond Jubilee." For the past 75 years, the CYC has been serving residents of all ages from throughout the Wyoming Valley area.

The CYC will kick off their celebration at the Annual CYC March Madness Event which will be held on Saturday, April 1, at the Westmoreland Club in Wilkes-Barre. This annual event features a casual atmosphere where guests can enjoy good food and beverages while watching the Final Four semi-final basketball games.

A raffle will be drawn the night of the event, with the winner receiving a trip to Walt Disney World (valued at $7,500) or $6,500 cash. An online silent auction will be held with more than 100 items up for bid at https://2023marchmadness.cbo.io.

"The CYC has adapted to the changing needs of the community, which is why we continue to grow and serve new segments of our society, such as our recent addition of programming to assist young people with mental health issues," Soprano said.

Bishop Hafey's vision

The CYC was the vision of Bishop William Hafey back in the late 1940s. Hafey saw a need to establish a recreational and educational center that would serve young people in the Wilkes-Barre area.

Through Bishop's Hafey's vision, the CYC quickly became a place in which the youth of Wyoming Valley could socialize, recreate and grow their God-given talents.

Soprano said the original building on South Washington street was small, consisting of a tiny gymnasium, a two lane bowling alley, a couple of classrooms and small auditorium. Classes such as sewing, basketball, archery and painting were held in the early years.

As participation in the program grew over the first decade, Soprano said the CYC soon outgrew the building which led to the addition of the gymnasium and swimming pool in the late 1960s.

"With this expansion, the variety and quantity of programs grew," Soprano said.

The CYC was home to the St. Mary's High School basketball team. Youth basketball, soccer and gymnastics programs were developed in the gym, along with swim lessons and swim team programs in the swimming pool.

Competitive swimming as we know it in the area today can trace its roots to the CYC pool. The CYC was one of the first in the area to offer a competitive swim program and the creation of Bishop Hoban High School led to a successful partnership in swimming that still exists.

The gymnasium also became the focal point of the social life for teenagers in the late '60s and '70s with its Saturday night dances featuring live bands such as Joe Nardone and the All Stars, the Tones and Eddie Day and TNT, that literally packed the house each week.

Following the Agnes Flood of 1972, Soprano said the CYC was able to acquire additional land adjacent to the facility leading to the construction of outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts and playground area for the younger children.

These additions allowed the CYC to expand services and increase enrollment in existing programs. A new Preschool Program was developed and the Summer Day Camp saw enrollment jump to nearly 400 children by 1990. Basketball leagues grew to over 1,000 participants by the end of the decade.

Growth of child care program

The early 1990s also saw the opening of the CYC's full time child care program. The program started with just a few children, but by the mid 1990s the CYC was quickly converting every room in the facility into child care space to meet the growing demand.

In 1999, the CYC became one of the first child care centers in the state, and the only one in Luzerne County, to offer 24 hour-a-day child care services. The program was originally funded through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Grant to care for children in families who are experiencing homelessness but quickly transitioned into serving all families in need of the service.

In 2024, the CYC will mark 25 years of providing round-the-clock child care and is still the only facility in the county offering this service.

In 2001, Soprano said, a capital expansion and improvement project was launched with the goal of raising $4 million to construct a new state of the art aquatic center, renovate the existing pool into a gymnasium and buy land to develop a park with additional outdoor play space for the children.

The aquatic center features the largest swimming complex in the area with an eight-lane pool and spectator seating for over 500. Although the COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary halt to the CYC swim team, the team will re-emerge this summer and be ready for competition in the fall.

In recent years, Soprano said the CYC developed programming with the assistance from Luzerne County Mental Health system to provide social, recreational and educational activities for teenagers involved in the mental health system.

Without many social activities available to this population, the CYC Drop-In program quickly became a hot spot for these young people. Three days a week the CYC doors are open for informal play time, life skills programs and special events. In the first few years of the program, more than 500 teenagers have participated.

Currently, 242 children are enrolled in the CYC child care program, which offers services for children age 6 months through 13 years. A Before and After School program is available with transportation to/from schools in the Wilkes-Barre Area, Hanover Area and Wyoming Valley West School District.

The CYC is a member agency of the Wyoming Valley United Way and part of the Diocese of Scranton.

For questions regarding CYC programs, or the March Madness Event, contact the CYC at 570-823-6121.

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.