About

History

The Mix at Arbor Place was founded in the early 1980s by a local pastor, Marvin Weaver of Laurel Street Mennonite. The Mix formally opened its doors for the first time in 1985. In 1999, the mission and vision were changed to more effectively address the growing needs of our community’s youth. In April 2000, Arbor Place transitioned to “The Mix” at Arbor Place, representing the cultural diversity of the community. Now The Mix has become a drop-in center that provides a safe environment for youth in the community.

Our Vision

To provide a state-of-the-art learning and recreational facility where hundreds of youth can “hang out” and become connected with caring adult mentors. These mentors from community churches will guide youth into becoming mature Christians who will impact Southeast Lancaster as it continues to grow into a community of hope and moral influence.

Our Building Campaign

After more than 25 years of ministry, the time has come for us to improve and expand our services.

We have recently embarked on a new endeavor to demolish the existing Arbor Place building, which was formerly the Siegel-Ansel Bag and Burlap Company, and construct a new building on the same property.

Our Board of Directors selected Scenic Ridge Construction Company and Cornerstone Design/Architects to build a state-of-the-art facility for our youth. The new facility is being designed to suit our needs and will help alleviate paying thousands of dollars each year to repair our current facility that was literally falling down.

Th new facility is one of several revitalization projects scheduled for the Southeast quadrant of the city. These projects will greatly enhance the neighborhood and will also increase demand on our facility and services. To name a few, SACA is building 14 new housing units on our block of North and Locust Streets, and a new shopping center is being constructed on South Duke Street.

Our new building will enable us to provide expanded programs to an increasing number of youth. These programs will address their educations, recreational, spiritual, social, and nutritional needs, and will also create unlimited opportunities for partnerships and collaborations as we work together to make today’s youth tomorrow’s leaders.

How You Can Help

Donate funds for the project, materials for the building, or labor for the construction
Pray for the new building project and the youth we serve
Volunteer time working with the youth, or meals prepared for 50 – 75 nightly