Sycamore Center satellite location, The Ark, offers a place to grow

WINTERSVILLE -- Bobbyjon Bauman spent a portion of last Thursday afternoon doing one of the things he likes -- he was leading a group of third- and fourth-graders in song.

The 15 or so students from Cross Creek Elementary School were enjoying themselves as Bauman and his staff talked them through the accompanying motions that went with each of the tunes he would play on his guitar, while the words were displayed on a screen behind him.

They were participating in the first week of after-school classes at the Ark, a satellite location of the Sycamore Youth Center, which has for more than a decade offered after-school and year-round programming for thousands of area young people.

“It’s been going awesome,” Bauman said while speaking in what used to be the sanctuary of the Brentwood Methodist Church. “The kids are excited to be here, and I just see this thing rolling and growing over time, as kids keep talking to the other kids. That’s how these things grow, through word of mouth. Kids vote with their feet -- if they’re having a good time, they will show up. If they’re not, they won’t.”

The executive director of the Sycamore Center, which sits at the corner of North Fourth and North streets in downtown Steubenville, said he was interested in finding a way to offer services in outlying areas, especially to the Wintersville area. He said he considered the church as a possible site to build his program when he heard that the pastor, Bill Westling, had some sound equipment he was looking to give away.

“I said, OK, I’ll give him a call,” Bauman explained. “I’ve known Bill for more than a decade, and he has been very generous to us. I’ve spoken in his church, I’ve sung in his church and we have spent a lot of time with him. When he had church events here, I’d bring in kids to sing.

“When I called him about the sound equipment, he asked if I knew of anyone who might be interested in obtaining the church, and I said that I might be interested. We started a dialogue and we ended up purchasing the building,” Bauman said of the sale, which was completed in August.

Bauman said there is a real need for the type of programming offered through the Sycamore center. He explained the program already is reaching a lot of students in Steubenville City Schools. In fact, 147 students from East Garfield had gone there during the past week, a number that represented about 60 percent of the school’s enrollment.

A second location at Indian Creek Middle School in Mingo Junction -- called Sycamore Stars -- is now in its fourth year and serves 40 children each day Monday through Thursday. That made expanding to Cross Creek elementary and its 500 students a good move, Bauman explained.

“We have art classes, we have cooking classes, we have dance classes, we have indoor and outdoor recreation classes and we have Bible classes, which is kind of our signature, of course,” he added.

Currently, classes at the Ark are held three days each week, with first- and second-graders coming on Mondays, fifth-through-eighth-graders coming on Wednesdays and third- and fourth-graders coming on Thursdays. They arrive by Indian Creek buses so classes can start around 3:15 p.m., and their parents pick them up at 5 p.m.

There’s a period set aside each day for snack time, which is coordinated by Sandra Wilson.

Wilson and Bauman have been working together since he started the Sonshine Bible Club 13 years ago at First Westminster Presbyterian Church in Steubenville. Recently retired from Indian Creek, Wilson also helps run Hop on the Bus Ministry, which provides transportation for needy people in El Salvador.

“I always tell everybody that I’ve been involved in a bus ministry for all of these years,” she said while neatly preparing a long table with light snacks that are placed at a separate setting for each of the students. “My slogan for El Salvador is, ‘Let’s put these kids on an ordinary bus that takes them to an extraordinary place called church.’ There, they find peace, they find joy and they find hope for the future.

“That’s what we want for these children. We put them on that bus and we bring them over here, and we want that peace and that joy and that hope to be stirred up in them,” she continued.

Wilson said while the students enjoy snack time, it’s also a time of learning -- including lessons in etiquette and proper table manners. They learn how to be friendly. They also are required to use hand sanitizer and share a prayer before enjoying their snacks, which are selected so they won’t ruin dinner for the children.

It can be challenging dealing with many children on a daily basis, Wilson explained.

“You know, you’re constantly trying to reach out and fill a need,” she added. “Some of the kids are shy, some of them are overbearing, so you have to feel it out and see who you are dealing with,” said,.

“The main thing is that you get into their hearts, and teach them to love one another and to love God more, and to go back home and show that affection to their parents,” Wilson said. In the future, Bauman explained, programming at the Ark will be expanded to five days a week. The idea was to start slowly and let it build over time. They already offer an Irish step dancing class that meets between 3 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. on Tuesdays.

“The thing we have kind of learned during the last 13 years is how to have an experience for the children,” he said. “It’s beneficial to them, and they’re also going to get something out of it that they’re going to be able to carry with them the years, whether that is an increased faith in the Lord, or just the life skills that they are learning through the different classes that we have.”

Having a good time while learning important lessons is a big part of what the Ark offers. It’s something that Bauman continued to take note of.

“I want to commend you guys -- this is the first time this has ever happened. I have been running the Sonshine Bible Club for 13 years,” he told the students after finishing last Thursday’s sing-along. “Today was the first time kids got off the bus and got in a single-file line and didn’t run into the building. You lined up and were just waiting for me to have these guys come out and check you in. Give yourself a round of applause.

“Now, let’s go ahead and keep up your conduct like that and keep acting like that, and we’re going to have a lot of fun,” he added. “It’s going to be great.”