Reaching Out Now Organizers Reflect on Evolving Expansion of Youth Activities at Santmyers Reborn Youth Center

This reporter sat down in a quiet, air-conditioned section of the Santmyers Student Union and Youth Center with several organizers from the Reaching Out Now organization to get background on the evolving nature of this community’s annual pre-Back-to-School event.

Reaching Out Now “Founder” Samantha Barber opened the conversation with Reaching Out Now “Director of Business Strategies” Joe Barber and Warren County High School Principal and Reaching Out Now member Ken Knesh.

“So, every month, Joe, Mr. Knesh, and I (Samantha Barber), Jody Lee, we have our monthly breakfast with the two principals. Jody Lee is the principal of Skyline High School, and of course, Mr. Knesh is the principal of Warren County High School. But every month we make it a point to meet and just have conversations, and always at the end of those conversations we come up with ideas — Just Dream is what I call it. And we leave there, but the dreams always turn into actions. And so this is how this came about,” Samantha Barber said of Community Fun Day being placed on the grounds of the Raymond E. Santmyers Student Union and Activity Center moving forward.

From left, WCHS Principal Ken Knesh, and Reaching Out Now officials Joe and Samantha Barber. It was noted that Knesh is also a Reaching Out Now member. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

“It was always at Warren County High School but it was for all the schools,” Joe Barber observed of the original pre-back to school event. So, to make that multiple schools students invited involvement clearer, the movement of the event to a more community wide location was decided. The group also noted that the new site at the intersection of 8th Street and Commerce Avenue, across the creek from Bing Crosby Stadium and several youth sports activity sites, is as equidistant as possible from the County’s high and middle schools moving forward.

“And the thing was we were doing back-to-back events, so what we said was let’s combine our efforts, get together and do it all together,” Knesh observed, adding, “We want to showcase not only what the community has to offer with this building and the resources of this building. A lot of people think it’s the same old building, but it’s been reborn.”

Readers will recall that Reaching Out Now and group founder Samantha Barber spearheaded the move to re-establish the building and site as a community-wide youth activities center. “We were blessed to work with the County and to revitalize this building,” Barber said. Responding to our question, she added that the building was officially renamed and opened as a reborn community-wide youth center on November 24, 2024.

The front entrance to the reborn Santmyers Student Union and Activities Center, and below, a blow-up of the front sign announcing that name.

“It’s enrichment, but a lot of what we do encompasses work that’s service, empowerment, and leadership … We’ve built that trio of focuses into operations. So, we are grateful, we’re a year-plus in. And we just had a 7-week enrichment camp where we dedicated the mural outside.” Samantha Barber said with an eye to both the building’s future and past as a community youth center.

It was noted by Reaching Out Now Director of Business Strategies Joe Barber that the building is still owned by the County, which authorized the revitalization and return to use as a youth center overseen by the non-profit Reaching Out Now. “We service kids from age 13 to whatever age they are in 12th grade,” Barber said as the interview concluded.

In addition to a heartfelt thanks to Reaching Out Now and its membership for their ongoing work on behalf of these communities’ children, we also thank the County government for authorizing Reaching Out Now’s ongoing revitalization and operational management of the Raymond E. Santmyers Student Union and Activity Center.

New Site Launches ‘Community Fun Day’ Which Was, Indeed FUN for Citizens of All Ages