• Home
• News
• Events
• Features
• Sports
• About
• Contact
• Advertise

Latest Headlines

• Burger, Fries And Meth: Molino Man Charged With Drug Trafficking
• Rain, Rain, Won’t Go Away
• One Person Injured In Cantonment Fire
• Cantonment Man Charged With Stealing $104K While Working As Brinks Driver
• Jim Allen Elementary Names Students Of The Month
• Beulah Christmas Parade Rescheduled, Century Tree Lighting Ceremony Canceled Due To Weather
• Escambia Man Sentenced To 15 Years On Federal Drug Charges
• Century Backtracks On Community Center Rental Rate Hike
• Escambia Public Schools Hiring Additional Campus Security Officers
• ‘Don’t Try Nothin Stupid’: Report Details Failed Bank Robbery Attempt, Desperate Plea By Woman, 63

‘All Aboard!’ Soul Train Club Youth Center Opens Doors In Century

Pastor Evelyn Deterville stood in the doorway of a newly leased space in Century and tooted a wooden train whistle with a smile.

“Welcome, welcome to the Soul Train Club she said,” tooting the horn again. “Come on it, we are open for everybody.”

Deterville’s Extra Mile Club St8 Up nonprofit official opened the “Soul Train Club of Century” youth resource center Friday afternoon. It’s in a space in the Century Business Center on Pond Street — a space that was a classroom in a long-closed middle school. And with her Soul Train Club, it’s returning to its education roots.

For a photo gallery, click here.

As a non-profit, Deterville is leasing the space from the Town of Century for $75 a month.

“Welcome to the Soul Train Club. We are empowering youth, educating them about the wonderful town of Century and the foundation of the trains, as well as teaching them about morals, values different things like that, and then we’re also extending learning from school, teaching them how to help them with their reading their math, all the STEM programs by being engaged, so it’s a one-stop shop.”

With the help of volunteers and donations, she’s organized the classroom space into several functional areas. There’s a train table, serving STEM education and keeping the program on track. There’s a clothes closet (with the racks still on the way) with free new clothing from Walmart, an area for games, parent involvement and sometimes vendors. On Saturday, she had a Jamaican food vendor, and said she hopes to give children a taste of food from other cultures.

She is planning to take part in a summer youth feeding program and has backpacks ready for children to take a week’s worth of meals home at one time. And she’s looking to establish an American Heritage Girls Troop

Realizing transportation is a problem for children and youth in Century, Deterville is hoping to add a bus or other transportation to the program. She applied for an Escambia Children’s Trust CAREs microgrant but was rejected. Now, she’s in talks with Metro Rapid Transportation, her neighbor in the Century Business Center, about options.

Deterville describes herself as a life learner, always striving for knowledge and then sharing that knowledge with others. She recently hosted a free grant writing class for local nonprofits.

Plans call for the center to be open every weekday afternoon and Saturdays.

For more information on the Soul Train Club and how to involve youth or volunteer, call Deterville at (850) 480-9702. Volunteers will be required to complete a form and undergo a background check.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.