Updated at 8:31 a.m., Tuesday, February 5, 2008
NFL players to be at ceremony for Nanakuli center
Advertiser Staff
A groundbreaking ceremony for a new youth center in Nanakuli will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday with NFL players and officials taking part as well as local dignitaries.Youth Education Town — which will be known as the YET Center — is the 11th YET Center the NFL has donated money toward, but it is the first in a city or area that doesn't have an NFL team or sponsors a Super Bowl.
NFL officials have said they are sponsoring the center in Nanakuli in appreciation for the years Hawai'i has hosted the Pro Bowl.
The NFL chose the Nanakuli area because YET Centers are designed to help high-risk kids, said Myron Brumaghim, chairman of advisory council for the YET Center and former principal at Nanaikapono Elementary School.
"The YET Center will be put up adjacent to Nanaikapono Elementary," Brumaghim said. "It will be specifically designed for elementary students and will have a lot of activities available. It will be a place where elementary schools in the area can take their kids during the school day."
Brumaghim said there will be a science area with indigenous plants, landscaping and a science curriculum. Physical activities will also be available. The Boys & Girls Club is working in partnership with the NFL on the YET Center, which is being built on 1.6 acres of land.
The first phase of the center is expected to be ready in January 2009.
The NFL has donated $1 million to help get the center built.
Other YET Centers the NFL has built are in eight cities: Los Angeles, which received the first award; Phoenix; New Orleans; Miami; Fort Lauderdale; Atlanta; and two each in San Diego, Tampa Bay and Detroit.
