The mission of the Town Shop is to provide a consistent, sustained and rich array of the ingredients and inputs that are essential for positive youth development for Camillus teens.
The Town Shop Youth Program is sponsored by the Town of Camillus, the New York State Department of Aging and Youth, BOCES, and the New York State ADA-PEP.
The Town Shop was created on March 7, 1971 with the goal of providing local youth a place in their community where they could find guidance, support, and companionship, plus have enriching cultural, recreational, and community service experiences. As the Youth Development Specialists at the Town Shop during these years, David and Cheryl Vermilya have played an important role in the personal development of innumerable teens from the Camillus community.
The Town Shop offers a large recreational area on the first floor for games, including an antique pool table, as well as resource materials and areas for studying on the second floor. In addition, the Town Shop has a kitchen, TV room, art gallery, computer room, and a large living room with a small stage. The Town Shop owns several quality guitars, as well as athletic and recreational equipment such as canoes, tents, backpacks, kayaks, snowshoes, and cross-country skis, all of which are available for use. Major field trips are scheduled each year, and include experiences & adventures such as a music festival in the Berkshires, sightseeing in New York City, and whale watching off Cape Cod.
Youth participating in Town Shop activities also engage in community service activities such as serving meals at the Samaritan Center, beautification projects in the Village of Camillus, distributing flags at the annual Memorial Day Parade, Earth Day clean up, and annual Feb Fest activities.