The Brainerd Baxter Youth Center, known locally as “TheShop,” serves as a community hub for teens and young adults. Beyond recreational activities, the center empowers youth with hands-on experience in event management, encouraging them to organize shows and music events where they learn valuable technical skills. The Ripple Effect is a Legacy-funded, youth-lead concert series.
Transcript
This is Minnesota's Legacy, a look at the organizations and the people who have benefited from Minnesota's Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
Brenton Monroe: I just wanted to get the youth involved into putting on shows and music and visual arts experiences.
Katharine DeCelle: Brenton Monroe is the executive director of the Brainerd Baxter Youth Center.
Brenton Monroe: We get probably an average of like 15 to 20 youth a day. We have after school snacks. We also serve dinners for free, keep them fed and keep them busy.
Katharine DeCelle: The Youth Center, known locally in Brainerd as the Shop, is a space for youth aged 13 to 22 to grow their independence, gain friendships and learn hands-on job skills.
Brenton Monroe: They can do whatever they want. Here. They can hang out. They play video games. We put together a lot of activities and educational meetings for them to learn stuff and stay engaged with all sorts of things in the community.
Katharine DeCelle: With a background in theater, Brenton created the ripple effect, a live music and visual arts series funded by Minnesota's Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
Brenton Monroe: The youth decide what kind of show they want to throw, who they want to play, and then throw in some visual arts experiences. They plug it all in and hook it all up, control the lights, control the mics.
Katharine DeCelle: You can find out more at THE SHOP BRAINERD dot ORG.
Minnesota's Legacy is produced by AMPERS With support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at AMPERS dot ORG.