Youth Center presents 'A Day for Kids'

  • Published
  • By Rebecca Amber
  • Staff writer
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The Edwards AFB Youth Center celebrated the younger generation Sept. 19 with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Day for Kids event.

With bouncy houses, bingo and face painting, the event was a big after school party. But, the main attraction was singer and song writer Adam Jaymes from the ABC series, "Rising Star."

"This is a special day where we come out and just appreciate them for being here and I think that's something kids are lacking a lot is getting that positive reinforcement that they are appreciated," said Chris Correa, Youth Program assistant.

Jaymes played three cover songs and two originals, "Lose our Sight" and "Under this Blood Moon." His audience was filled with children ages nine to 12 years old. Jaymes was only 11 years old when he started playing music and joined his first band when he was 15.

"I thought about how valuable it was for me at that age and I was super ambitious like these kids. In the next 5-10 years, these kids will be young adults and I find it very valuable and important to invest in these kids," said Jaymes.

"When he was young he was so passionate about music," added his wife, Linzy. "Music helps in every aspect; it triggers brain cells and actually helps with education. I've always had a passion for kids too, so I'm really happy to see him doing this."

Last February, Jaymes started the process to appear in "Rising Star" and ultimately made it into the top 18 participants in the show.

At first, he was skeptical about auditioning for the show, but with his wife's encouragement, he auditioned, landed the part and left his job as a bank teller.

"It felt very natural; there was a lot of work involved, a lot of rehearsals," said Jaymes. "Now I'm just picking up momentum from the show."

The singer/song writer hopes to start a full-time career in music.

"I'm not looking to be a household name, I just want to play shows that matter and affect people for God," said Jaymes. "Whatever God has for us is really what it comes down to."

Jaymes plays what he categorizes as pop acoustic, with a bluesy feel to it.

"To me, music is a heavenly property. To me it started in Heaven and it has value to it and it can be used for good or bad. To me music is an expression of this passion that I have in my heart and my soul. I see it as a vessel, a means for people to come together."

He found this to be especially true on a three-month world tour with a local, Christian rock band, Dizmas.

"There was a major language barrier as you can imagine, but as we toured through these schools every day playing American music and these kids didn't know what we were saying, but they were totally there with us and they were getting the message somehow. It's just extremely powerful and not something to be taken lightly."

After the show, students in the Torch Club, a leadership club at the Youth Center, joined Jaymes to conduct a series of brief interviews.

"This is a big opportunity for them to get out there and show that they are leaders and they are capable of being mature and being a role model for everyone else," said Breanne Wrzesinski, Youth Program assistant.

The Torch Club was also invited to a smaller, private show as a reward for taking a leadership role in the program. Throughout the year, they organized fundraisers and activities as elected officials. A Day for Kids was one of their final activities before their upcoming elections for the next year.

The Youth Center regularly accommodates 80 or more children in their afterschool program. Unlike a day care, the Youth Center offers constructive, extra-curricular activities to suit each student's interest.

"We offer after school activities like homework help. We encourage them in fitness and sports helping them with football, basketball and soccer," said Correa.

They also offer a variety of clubs for cooking, magic tricks, music, science and scrapbooking. There is an art room, a gym and an outdoor playground.

"It's really just a huge playground they can come too and have a lot of fun. We definitely want to have a lot of education in it, but we try to do it in a way that's more carefree and fun," said Correa. "We try to capitalize on what they are already learning."