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The Game Loft is a unique and innovative after-school program located in downtown Belfast, Maine. It is run by staff and members as a service to the community, and in October 2007 was named "Number One Exemplary After School Program" for the state of Maine by the Maine After-School Network. Youth come to the Loft not to watch TV or play video games, but to play non-electronic games with their friends, do their homework with the help of an older member or adult mentor, work on a school or community project, or just hang out with their friends and have a conversation. Everyone is welcome here, and we have a variety of different kids from all walks of life.

Description:
The Game Loft is open 361 days a year, from 2 to 6 p.m. on school days and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. During these program hours, we offer a full range of services, from hot meals everyday at 2:30 p.m. to at least one afternoon game every day, and even a birthday party once a month.

The mission of The Game Loft is to promote Positive Youth Development through gaming. Through a wide range of social, educational and cultural activities, we strive to create new opportunities for the youth of Waldo County, Maine, to understand themselves and the world they live in. As a grassroots volunteer organization, every member, no matter how young or old, takes responsibility for making The Game Loft work. Through The Game Loft and its activities, isolation (social and rural isolation, both of which affect many kids in Waldo County) is combated.

The Loft is based on the 8 Keys of Positive Youth Development designed by Gisela Konopka (1973) and Karen Pittman (1991), where they identified critical elements essential to the healthy development of young people:

• Youth feel physically and emotionally safe
• Youth experience belonging and ownership
• Youth develop self-worth
• Youth discover self
• Youth develop positive relationships with peers and adults
• Youth discuss conflicting values and form their own
• Youth feel the pride and accountability that comes with mastery
• Youth expand their capacity to enjoy life and know that success is possible
  
  

History:
In 1996, Ray and Patricia Estabrook opened their store, All About Games, in Belfast. Shortly after All About Games opened, the Estabrooks found their shop filled to bursting with youth of all ages who wanted to play (or learn how to play) non-electronic games. They tried to incorporate the game playing into the running of their store, but they eventually realized their store could not be a business and a youth center at the same time. Instead of just kicking the kids out and going on with their lives, they saw that there was a serious need for a place for the youth of Belfast to go and decided to do something about it. Together with a group of youth and adults, they organized The Game Loft, a volunteer-run community center located in the heart of Belfast. With an almost nonexistent budget, on a wish and a prayer, the doors of The Game Loft opened on February 1, 1998.

By the summer of 1999, the Loft had reached a crisis point. Funds had run out, and the people who were running the Loft were exhausted. Fortunately, the Loft received help from Communities for Children, a statewide organization offering services for Maine youth, in the form of an AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer. The A*VISTA volunteer researched and wrote grants and took on a number of daily administrative responsibilities, taking some of the load off the core group of volunteers and restoring the Loft's financial solvency. The Game Loft received its first MBNA Foundation Excellence in Education grant, allowing it to offer a year-round program of educational and cultural experiences for its members and the community at large. AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteers have been a vital part of the Loft's functioning for the last two years, helping The Game Loft to build its capacity to run itself.

In 2000, four high school students who were Game Loft members decided to take part in the 4-H AmeriCorps volunteer program. They donated hundreds of hours of labor to The Game Loft, running games and serving as mentors for younger students, helping out with mailings and other administrative duties, participating in fund-raising activities, and serving as ambassadors to other communities who wanted to start a program like the Loft.

The Loft successes ebbed and flowed, but in 2006, it looked as if the Loft, like so many other non-profits before it, would fall apart in its eighth year. However, a new group of volunteers rebuilt the Board of Directors in October 2006, and with the help of parents, adults, and primarily the members who love this program, the Game Loft was reconstructed and became stronger than ever before.

At present, one year later, the Game Loft was rid of all financial debt, the audits were completed, and we have had record attendance figures. The programs are running smoothly, with members being just as important as they ever were. In October 2007, the Game Loft was named "Maine's No. 1 Exemplary After-School Program" by the Maine After-School Network and received the award in Augusta. The Game Loft has, and always will be, a place where every contribution is appreciated and everyone has a way to help. Without this belief and practice, the Game Loft would no longer exist.

Contact people:

Leah Watson, Assistant Director, (phone), (email) Ray Estabrook, Executive Director, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (207) 338-9984

Address:

78A Main Street Belfast, ME 04915 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.thegameloft.org/

Directions:

Take interstate highway 95 north or south to Augusta, Maine. From Augusta, take the 202 east, to the 3 east. Take the 3 for almost an hour. Once in Belfast, the 3 becomes Belmont Avenue, which then. . . (more) For maps or information, please see http://www.portlandmaine.worldweb.com/Transportation/PublicTransit

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