Rocksolid Teen Community Center receives two vans

Posted

The Rocksolid Teen Community Center in Brush Prairie received two new vans after a number of donors and organizations pitched in to secure the vehicles. 

Marcy Sprecher, the executive director for the Rocksolid Teen Community Center, said the new vehicles will replace vans the center has used for over 20 years.

“We’ve been driving the same vans for many, many years, and they are tired and gimping along,” said Sprecher. “We’re excited we’re able to have brand new vans that will last us another 20 years hopefully.”

Each van has the capacity to hold 12 people, and kids are brought to the center after school with permission from their parents or guardians. 

Along with the vans, Sprecher said Rocksolid also contracts with the Battle Ground and Hockinson school districts so kids can be transported via buses to the center. 

The funds for the new vehicles were made up of an anonymous donation of $25,000, a $50,000 grant from the Firstenburg Foundation, $11,300 from 100 Men Clark County, and various donations from Rocksolid’s 2021 Concert Fundraiser. The concert fundraiser was held at Pomeroy Cellars in Yacolt in August of last year and kicked off the process of gathering donations for the vans. 

Sprecher said the vans will feature Rocksolid branding and will also highlight businesses that support the center’s transportation program. Those featured businesses include Riverview Community Bank, Dan’s Tractor, and S&T Truck Repair, among others.

Each business pays $500 so their information will be included on the vans and they also get featured on Rocksolid’s website. 

“The funding goes toward maintaining the vans, fueling the vans, insurance, and all the things we need to keep them up and running,” Sprecher said.



Rocksolid provides a multitude of programs to keep children active in the community. The after-school program has youth development programs for kids in grades 5-12 and features daily activities for the students. 

“We partner with other nonprofits to be able to bring them a different perspective in whatever their mission is, such as Prevent Together,” said Sprecher. 

Students in the program do community service projects, they attend field trips and there are also summer camps hosted by the center, so Sprecher said the vans are used on a daily basis. 

The field trips include taking the kids to Trail Blazers’ games in Portland, the Clark County Sheriff’s Department, the Battle Ground Police Department, Skyzone, and to Camp Hope. 

“Wherever we need to be with our kids, we’re able to take them with the van,” Sprecher said. “During camp, we take them to different places so that we can give them not only an educational piece, but we can also have fun.”

She said part of the educational piece of the camp includes the Police Activities League, where kids learn about the work of law enforcement and crime scene investigation as part of their CSI camp. 

The Rocksolid Teen Community Center is located at 12919 NE 159th St. in Brush Prairie. It is open from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information, go online to rocksolid-teen.com.