The Penns Valley Youth Center held its annual Celebration Dinner and Fall Fundraiser on Sunday, October 26, 2025, at the Old Gregg School Community and Recreation Center in Spring Mills. The event required months of planning, with various committees formed to handle tasks such as raffle baskets, catering, decorations, music, and more. Volunteers and staff worked diligently to ensure everything went smoothly and created a welcoming atmosphere for all attendees. On the day of the event, the Penns Valley Community Church helped set up after their church service, the catering team came at noon, raffle baskets started at 5:15 pm., dinner was served at 6:00, and the program began at 6:30, featuring speakers from the Youth Centers director, students, and a guest speaker from Urban Impact.

According to Amanda Fisher, one of the event organizers, “It took months of planning to put the structure of the evening together. We had committees for raffle baskets, service, catering, decor, music, and other parts of the fundraiser. It was really a team effort.” She explained that finding volunteers and building a strong team was a big part of what made the night so successful. Amanda also shared that this fundraiser is the Youth Center’s main way to raise money for their programs. “This is our primary fundraiser, where we bring in the majority of our funds to continue making our programming free to all who want to attend,” she said. “It also helps us pay rent for the space and pay our employees.”

When asked why the community continues to support the Youth Center, Amanda said, “We were all once teenagers, so the community sees the impact of having a safe space for teens to feel like they belong.” She added that while each year is a different kind of success, this one stood out. “This year we reached our goal of raising funds, unlike last year when we didn’t.” Looking ahead, Amanda hopes to see even more student involvement. “Juniors and seniors in high school who want to be involved in the planning would be helpful,” she said. “Student involvement is always the priority.”