By JOSHUA PHILLIPS
Northeast News
May 29, 2013

For the second year running, the youth of Kansas City, Mo., can have fun in a safe environment at Club KC as part of Mayor’s Nights.

The Mayor’s Office and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department are offering various events throughout the summer for Mayor’s Nights. All attendees must register for a free official Mayor’s Nights VIP card to access Mayor’s Nights events and receive discounts around town.

“The Mayor’s Nights were created in 2012 in response to the curfew ordinance in place, and in the first year it was very effective,” said Roosevelt Lyons, senior advisor for Civic and Community Engagement with the City of Kansas City, Mo. “This has been of need for a long time, especially in the urban core of Kansas City.”

The following community centers will host Club KC this summer: Brush Creek Community Center, 3801 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd., for high school youth on Friday and Saturday nights; Gregg Klice Community Center, 1600 John “Buck” O’Neil Way, for middle school youth on Friday and Saturday nights; Hillcrest Community Center, 10401 Hillcrest Road, for middle school youth on Friday nights and high school youth on Saturday nights; Tony Aguirre Community Center, 2050 W. Pennway Terrace, for middle school youth on Friday nights and high school youth on Saturday nights; and the Kansas City North Community Center, 3930 N.E. Antioch Road, for middle school youth on Friday nights and high school youth on Saturday nights.

Youth wanting to attend the activities this summer must either register online at www.kcmayor.org/mayorsnights or download a registration form to turn in at the locations listed above.

“There is a need for safe places for the youth to go,” Lyons said. “We have received crime statistics from the Kansas City Police Department and there have been a lot of decreases in crime committed by the youth. This just goes to show that stereotypes of youth to cause trouble is wrong with these programs in place.”

Club KC activities will include dancing and music compliments of Hot 103 Jamz DJs, refreshments, three-on-three basketball, swim parties and video game tournaments. Other events are Mayor’s Night Hoops (basketball), Kicks (soccer) and Nets (volleyball). Locations, times and dates are available on the Mayor’s Nights website at www.kcmayor.org/mayorsnights.

“We talked to the youth and they did not know we had these events so we just packaged them together,” Lyons said. “The city’s parks and rec, health and the neighborhood and housing services departments have programs for youth all year-round. The Mayor’s Nights are just sponsored by the Mayor’s Office.”

Along with the safe summer activites of Mayor’s Nights and Club KC, Lyons said the city also offers its Bright Future’s employment fair for the youth and paid internships with City Hall during the summertime.