Pemi Youth Center

The Pemi Youth Center is a non-profit organization, serving as an empowerment program for youth ages 10-17 of Plymouth, NH and surrounding communities. We are dedicated to providing a safe and educational environment where young people of our community can gather, socialize, and continue to learn outside of school at no cost to families. We support, encourage and empower the youth of our community to have the confidence to live their dreams and to practice love and compassion in efforts to make the world a better place. We are dedicated to engaging our youth through mentoring, empowerment programming, creative arts, social and recreational interactions, STEM activities, substance misuse prevention, college application support, and opportunities for community service. We also provide nutritious snacks and a daily meal, which is important for many of our youth participants.  In fact, 90% of our youth participants eat this meal and many rely on it.  Not only is PYC an extension of the school day, but we also seek to support youth as they journey into adulthood by offering them the necessary guidance and information to be successful in their lives.  In doing so we are able to prevent the continuation of generational abuse and neglect.

We collaborate with many area institutions, organizations and agencies, including, Plymouth State University, Granite United Way, the Whole Village Family Resource Center, Plymouth Parks & Recreation Department, Plymouth Elementary School, Plymouth Regional High School, CADY (Communities for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth), Friends of the Arts, Mt. Prospect Academy, the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, the Circle Program, The Appalachian Mountain Teen Project, Voices Against Violence, the Boys and Girls Club of the Lakes Region, and many others.  

Who We Are

The PYC is a non-profit organization serving youth ages 10-17 in the Greater Plymouth area. We are dedicated to providing a safe, welcoming and educational environment where youth may gather outside of school and gain a sense of community, belonging and self-esteem.

The PYC offers a variety of program components, which include academic assistance, mentoring, art workshops, recreational activities, empowerment groups, substance misuse prevention, nutritional guidance/cooking instruction/daily hot meals, community service opportunities, a science program run in partnership with the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, STEM activities, life skills development, college application support, and much more. PYC provides positive role models and mentors for our youth through PSU and community volunteers. The center serves the Town of Plymouth, as well as surrounding communities. About 100 youth per year engage at PYC, not only during after school hours, but also through PYC hosted events, workshops and summer programming. Over the past ten years we have enjoyed a consistent increase in participation and look forward to even more growth.

At PYC we believe that one-on-one mentoring helps our youth participants feel loved, cared for, and supported. Our philosophy is to meet every child where they are, as we understand that every child is at a different developmental level and many are faced with significant challenges in their lives. We focus on providing them with tools so they can build themselves up to unlock their unlimited potential and create positive change in the world. With that said, we also strive to create a sense of family and community by reinforcing that every person is precious and worthy of love and compassion. We care deeply about our ability to impact individual lives, and we do measure outcomes on an annual basis. However, measurement does not consume our organization, as our focus is strongly fixed on making a difference through authentic mentoring relationships. We work hard to inspire and empower the next generation of helpers and leaders.