Who we are.

We are a group of volunteers brought together by our common interest in the youth of our community. We have seen the difficulties that today’s youth encounter in growing to adulthood and we believe that we can have a positive impact on this process.

CAYA is a unique organization set up in 1953 by the court system in Oakland County to help volunteers to organize their efforts to make that difference in the lives of youth and their families. We work with a full time, Court appointed professional counselor and we have five program areas set up to accomplish our goals.In 2007, 4,644.5 volunteer hours were given by our dedicated volunteers.

The Family Education Committee is charged with presenting parenting programs to the community. It is their goal to bring to the community, speakers and topics that address the concerns and needs of the parents in this area.

The Mentors Plus Program is one of the largest and most active mentoring programs in Oakland County. This program matches youth with mentors of their very own. This group is committed to finding mentors for every youth that needs the positive influence of a mentor in his/her life. They also are very active in organizing monthly activities for all the matched and unmatched youth and their families. They swim, sled, picnic, golf, do community service projects, attend rodeos, basketball and baseball games and participate in every parade in Clarkston. The Camping Program sends youth to camp. Last year 30 youth went to a one-week overnight camp. It is a time of rest, learning, and great fun.

The Youth Recognition Program is in charge of recognizing those youth in the community that have used their spare time to volunteer. Once a year the committee organizes a special program to honor the youth that already know the value of offering their time to others.

The Skill Building Program administers a Children’s Fund that grants scholarships for students who want to participate in areas of education, music, sports, art, after school tutoring, and school activities.

Each year grants, donations, and several fundraising activities fund these programs. Our annual Golf Outing is being planned and our Benefit Play, presented by the Clarkston Village Players will be held early in the year.

Our Board of Directors meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 P.M. at the Renaissance High School. We invite you to come and join our organization. We work hard and we have fun and we feel we are fulfilling a real need in the community.

Youth assistance is administered under the auspices of the Oakland County Circuit Court – Family Division. One of 26 such county programs, Clarkston Area Youth Assistance operates with the sponsorship of the Oakland County Circuit Court – Family Division, the Clarkston School District, Independence Township, Springfield Township and the City of the Village of Clarkston and with principal funding supplied through the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.