IceHouse Youth Project

The photos attached are of The Ice House a building  in McAlester, Oklahoma, which is home to my family now. I am a 16 year old and from a small town in Eastern Kentucky where people still help people out, and everyone knows their neighbors and most are like family. My Dad transferred with his job to the Army Base in McAlester, Oklahoma a few years ago. On one of our house hunting trips we ran upon this building and after months of begging my parents finally called the owner and took a look inside.   I knew what I had to do immediately, so I am on a mission to fulfill my dream to turn this into a safe haven for teens and young adults the original Ice House was built in 1892 so it has some age but also has great bones until a fire burned a portion of the building, it's been setting vacant for close to 20 years. I want to reach kids on a different level, not exactly in a formal setting of school or a formal setting in a counselors office, more so in a comfortable atmosphere for the youth. I have visioned an upbeat youth friendly atmosphere promoting self worth as Pittsburg County is among the highest on statistics for suicides and prescription drug abuse. I want to implement various activities during the week after school such as family game night, glow in the dark dodgeball, basketball, and teen talent night these are just ideas for entertainment to aid in keeping them off the streets and resorting to bad habits that can be life changing for them and family members. We plan to have counselors on hand as needed, and provide GED classes. Again, these are all just ideas please feel free to message me if you have any ideas, this is something that will take a lot of support in a lot of different areas, I'm currently working towards a Jr board so we can organize community service projects to get other teens involved in finding various ways to give back to the community and making McAlester an even better place to live. Changing the culture and getting teens and youth more involved with our community. My passion is driven from my own life experiences with drug abuse within our family, a few of my younger siblings have had a rough start in life and we've got to make changes for our future. Please pray about our project, and if you wanna help out, please feel free to reach out to us. Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing your ideas.

Aaron Abney
1825 Wood Road McAlester, OK 74501
[email redacted]
(859)582-8395 Aaron
(859)797-0281 Dad Jason
(859)797-0275 Mom Amanda