The Austinite was part of a theater group in middle and high school, but after he graduated he had no creative outlet—until he became part of the Catalyst Teen Center in Cedar Park.
The nonprofit aims to help teenagers and young adults by providing the means and equipment to pursue their dreams. The center provided Adams with a camera and professional advice, and he got started on filming, he said. His videos are featured on the center’s website, and Adams also runs the film club and media department for the center.
“Getting involved with the Catalyst Teen Center has given me the opportunity to really seek out what my passion is and to actually follow that,” Adams said.
The center developed out of a church youth group three years ago, Executive Director Joe Elliott said, but morphed into a program to offer classes and resources that were not traditional church functions. The nonprofit wanted to offer resources and programs not available within public schools, including those that are not affordable for some parents, such as music or karate lessons. Teens can take free classes such as guitar, film or archery; receive a babysitting certificate; or train on “how to survive a zombie apocalypse” to learn basic survival skills.
CTC also has other programs including internships and leadership development. Currently the programs are mobile and take place in donated spaces; however, the CTC is actively fundraising to build its own location to host its classes, programs and events, Elliott said.
“We want to encourage kids and help them discover their purpose,” Program Director Zac Tinney said. “If you have a gift, wouldn’t you want to know what [it is]? The passion of the teenagers can make a difference in their community.”
In search of a permanent location
Catalyst Teen Center needs a 3,000-to 4,000-square-foot space in North Austin or Cedar Park to open a permanent location. To be able to do that, the nonprofit needs to raise $300,000, Executive Director Joe Elliott said. A campaign to raise funds began this May and the nonprofit has raised $40,000 as of June 30. CTC partners with individuals, businesses and organizations and is looking for temporary locations to host its services until a permanent location is built.
Volunteers needed
“We treat volunteers exactly the way we do any teen or young adult that comes to the center. … You are connecting with us because you want to give back in some ways to the next generation, and you don’t know how. Maybe you can cook. … Maybe you have administrative skills or know about computers. Whatever that skill set is, we work within that,” Elliott said.
