$50k in 50 days

PALMER — What can a yak do with $50,000? Probably not much, unless it lives in downtown Palmer.

Standing on the corner of Arctic Avenue and South Valley Way, The YAK is both a place and a group of people, as well as a faith-based organization with the long-haired Himalayan bovid as its mascot. It’s the Youth of Alaska, a recreational, after-school hub for 11- to 18-year-olds, founded by Lazy Mountain Bible Church (LMBC) Youth Pastor Andy Miller in 2013.

Operational since August of 2014, The YAK is furnished not only with cushy chairs and couches, but a pool table, foosball table, dartboard and various board games, art supplies and musical instruments for kids to entertain themselves with. Youth also have access to free Wi-Fi and a snack bar with a variety of items sold for $1 or less.

Since The YAK doesn’t charge an entry or membership fee, and isn’t otherwise making any money, the organization relies on individual and corporate donations to stay up and running. Last fall Miller launched a “40 in 40” campaign to raise $40,000 in 40 days to pay for rent, utilities and upkeep of The YAK building, and this year it’s 50 in 50.

But this time, The YAK’s new director, Jeff Gail, is leading the charge.

Gail said Miller had planned to hire a separate director from the get-go, and that when the job opened, Gail had just decided it was time move on from his position at Alaska Bible College.

“It was a good transition,” he said.

Gail came on as director on July 1 of this year, and since then has been working with Miller to develop an advisory board for the YAK and make it a 501(c)3 nonprofit separate from LMBC. The YAK would no longer be affiliated specifically with Lazy Mountain, but would remain a faith-based organization, Gail said.

“We don’t wanna become a YMCA,” he said, which only references its Christian roots in the organization’s history prior to 1900, and in fine print at the bottom of its website.

However, while The YAK’s leaders will have Christian backgrounds, Gail said all youth are welcome, and need not make any kind of statement of faith or participate in any bible studies to enjoy The YAK.

“Our mission … is to provide a safe, welcoming and fun place for these kids,” he said. “We don’t preach up onstage, but … if we get to have conversations with kids and they’re intrigued or they want to go to youth group … it’s a natural transition to them wanting to know more.”

Not all the questions kids have posed have to do specifically with religion, though. Gail said that, in his few months as director, more than one teen has approached him with struggles regarding gender identity, looking for a listening ear. Gail said he was happy to oblige.

“We just wanna love on these kids, not judge on them,” he said.

So far, The YAK seems to be a success. Gail said he sees an average of 40-60 kids daily during The YAK’s operating hours of 2-6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and has seen more than 100 come through on a Friday on more than one occasion.

“It gets hoppin’,” he said.

Gail said the ultimate goal is to be able to buy the YAK building, maybe install a rock wall on the exterior, and increase the number of evening and weekend activities like pizza nights and concerts, as well as YAKventures, which this summer consisted of chaperoned hiking and canoeing trips. But that won’t be possible without proper funding.

Last year, Gail said the YAK raised about $35,000 of its $40,000 goal, and with the growing awareness about the organization, is optimistic about seeing close to $50,000 this year and in years to come.

“If we raise $50,000, that will give us enough in the bank to pay the rent, pay the utilities, pay the staff — which is me — through 2017, and then that just frees up my time to … spend more time with the kids,” he said, instead of fundraising.

Donations to the YAK can be made online at https://lzymtn.wufoo.com/forms/online-giving/ or by mail to The YAK, 16005 East Shawn Dr., Palmer AK 99645 (LMBC’s physical address). Donations of $100 or more made by Nov. 1 will automatically enter the donor to win a 40-pound box of Alaska-raised, grass-fed, free-range beef worth more than $400.

The 50 in 50 campaign ends Nov. 20.

Visit www.facebook.com/PalmerYAK or www.youth-ak.com for more information.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.