MOSES LAKE — Youth Dynamics raised more than $57,000 at its annual dinner and auction Saturday night, and the money raised goes to provide a friendly haven for middle and high school students in Moses Lake.

“We get 100 kids a week coming to YD,” said Youth Dynamics Director Sean Sallis. “They’re getting a really good meal. They’re getting to use the Wi-Fi … and do their homework. They don’t pay anything to come. And one thing we hear from parents is ‘What’s it cost?’ and we’re like, ‘Nothing. It’s free.’ And you know why? Because we’re able to do things like this.”

This year’s auction theme was “Back to the ’80s,” and attendees were encouraged to dress in the neon gaudiness of the Reagan era.

Dinner was prime rib by Firehouse Barbecue, and the live auction was conducted by Chuck Yarbro Jr. There was also a silent auction and a dessert dash, in which each table had 30 seconds to run to run across the room and grab a dessert.

Yvonne Juergens was recognized by YD Staffer Kristie Stucky with a special award for her unflagging volunteer support. Juergens started out as a student at YD, and has volunteered for the last three years, Stucky said, including invaluable help with putting the auction together.

“She saw how much we needed volunteers and she jumped right in,” Stucky said. “She is very encouraging. She’ll send personal messages to people to let them know how helpful they are when she alone has been an amazing help. Yvonne does a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff … Yvonne Juergens has served above and beyond to the level of being extraordinary. Her efforts have helped Youth Dynamics make an impact on the lives of countless teens.”

The amount raised wasn’t available at press time.

The auction is the biggest fundraiser for Youth Dynamics, a Christian outreach ministry that gives middle and high school students a place to hang out and play games, as well as have a meal, shower and do laundry if they need to. But the biggest thing YD offers is people, both peers and adults, who genuinely care about them, Sallis said.

“We don’t push Jesus on kids,” Sallis said. “We’re present and we love them. We care for them.”

Earlier this month, Youth Dynamics kicked off its weekly Connect Nights, Monday for high schoolers and Tuesday for middle school students. The middle school group had an attendance of four, Sallis said, so the next Tuesday he and his volunteers bought 1,000 chewy cookies and stationed themselves at the middle schools.

“We were at Frontier in the morning,” he said. “We missed one lunch at Columbia and we went to Endeavor after school was out, inside the commons as they were going to lunch. All we did was stand there and say ‘Hey, we love you. Have a cookie.’ It was like feeding a flock of seagulls.”

That night, 40 students came from all three middle schools, Sallis said.

“That’s what we do,” Sallis said. “We go out there and try to find them, because we know there’s value in students knowing that they’re loved. And that’s what Youth Dynamics is all about.”

In addition to its building downtown, Youth Dynamics also takes young people on adventure trips, rock climbing and river rafting. For those whose families can’t afford the trip, the annual auction raises money for scholarships.

“Two years ago, we took 20 students on the Salmon River for seven days,” Sallis said. “They were in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone, no internet, no video games. Just them, God, other friends and stars. It’s kind of cool when you’re lying down sleeping at night and you hear a young man say, ‘Hey, I saw a shooting star!’”

Youth Dynamics opened in Moses Lake in 1996, in the same building it still occupies on Third Avenue. The organization owns the building outright, and the staff raise funds for their own salaries rather than being paid by YD. Some of the money that was raised Saturday will go toward a van to increase Youth Dynamics’ ability to transport students to functions, Sallis said.

Sallis was a student attending Youth Dynamics himself when it opened, he said, and now has been director since 2021. 

“My report is pretty simple,” Sallis said. “My report is, we’re just going to keep on doing what we do. We’re going to keep handing out cookies. We’re going to keep stepping into the awkward. We’re going to keep taking kids on really cool trips to expose them to the Gospel, to expose them to nature … When you drive by that building, you may not see it, but there are kids in that place that we’re trying to keep off the street. We’re trying to keep them from getting involved in gangs. We’re trying to keep them fed. That’s powerful.”

Youth Dynamics

106 E. 3rd Ave.

Moses Lake

509-855-4095

yd.org

    Youth Dynamics Director Sean Sallis gives a thumbs-up next to a colorful Kei-truck at the Youth Dynamics auction Saturday.
  

    Shawna and Ryan Sloane, as Jessica and Roger Rabbit, call tables to the dessert dash at the Youth Dynamics auction Saturday.
  

    From left: Jasmine Curry, Emma Mercier, Brycen Stucky and A’dyn Cerrillo take a break from volunteering at the Youth Dynamics auction Saturday.
  

    Shawna Sloane gives Yvonne Juergens an award for countless hours of volunteer work and unflagging support.