February 2025
City of La Center ADA Survey
Our Days
Screenagers Viewing
La Center Senior Parent Auction
La Center Little League
La Center Museum
City of La Center
La Center Library - FVRL
La Center Art Council
Kiwanis
Upcoming Events / Save the Dates
C-Tran - New LC Bus Stop
Middle School Alcohol Prevention
City of La Center ADA Survey
The City of La Center is currently running a survey and asking for community input. The short survey can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CT272BJ
Our Days
Our Days planning is underway. The committee is seeking volunteers (planning now) as well as sponsorship donations. Anyone who would like to help plan activities for the KidZone area should contact Sam Glackler @ 503.333.5546 or come to the next meeting on March 10th @ 5:30 @ City Hall. Those interested in monetarily sponsoring the event can contact Wendy Chord or visit lacenterourdays.com
Screenagers: Elementary School Age edition
March 10, 2025 - LCMS Commons - 6-7:30 PM
Family Friendly - documentary for parents to watch
with grades K-5 youth
Light refreshments will be served
Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition updates the original movie with the latest research, expert insights and advice, specifically tailored for the students, parents and educators of elementary schools to help them better navigate this digital age.
This new version of the original Screenagers movie addresses issues that elementary school aged kids, parents and educators are facing, i.e., smartwatches in class, unhooking from and monitoring video gaming, social media pressures, exposure too young and what research shows is a healthy amount of screen time. With many solutions to these and other challenges.
To learn more click here.
Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age
March 24, 2025 - LCMS Commons - 6-7:30 PM
Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age is an award-winning film that probes into the vulnerable corners of family life and depicts messy struggles over social media, video games, and academics. The film offers solutions on how we can help our kids navigate the digital world.
Synopsis
Are you watching young people immersed in their screens — scrolling through social media, playing video games, and losing focus with ever-decreasing attention spans?
Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston faced this challenge with her own kids and screens. She questioned how this was affecting family dynamics, education, and the mental well-being of young people.
Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age takes a deeply personal and relatable approach. Delaney opens the doors to her own family life and meets with others to explore the messy struggles over social media, video games, academics, and internet addiction.
Through poignant and unexpectedly humorous stories, paired with surprising insights from leading experts, Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age reveals how screens are shaping kids’ development. Most importantly, it offers actionable solutions to help adults empower kids to navigate the digital age and find balance.
To learn more click here.
Screenagers Next Chapter: Youth Mental Health in the Digital Age
April 14, 2025 - LCMS Commons - 6-7:30 PM
Screenagers Next Chapter: Youth Mental Health in the Digital Age - Millions of young people experience high stress, anxiety, and depression. We follow physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston as she discovers solutions for improved adolescent well-being in the digital age.
Synopsis
Filmmaker and physician Delaney Ruston uses a personal lens and professional eye to help us all flip the script on stress, anxiety, and depression. We follow Delaney as she finds herself at a loss on how to help her own teens as they struggle with their emotional wellbeing. Ruston sets out to understand these challenges in our current screen-filled society, and how we as parents and schools empower teens to overcome mental health challenges and build emotional agility, communication savvy, and stress resilience.
We witness Delaney as she finds her way from ineffective parenting to much-improved strategies. We follow other personal stories of families from an array of backgrounds with a spectrum of emotional challenges. We also observe approaches in schools that provide strategies relevant beyond the classroom setting. Interwoven into the stories are surprising insights from brain researchers, psychologists, and thought-leaders that reveal evidence-based ways to support mental wellness among our youth. The impact of social media and screen time in general is incorporated in topics brought to our attention in Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER, how it may be impacting our teen’s mental health, and what we can do to help support youth in the face of struggles.
To learn more click here.
Screenagers Under The Influence: Vaping drugs & Alcohol in the digital age
May 12, 2025 - LCMS Commons - 6-7:30 PM
Screenagers Under The Influence: Vaping drugs & Alcohol in the digital age - Join Screenagers’ filmmaker, Delaney Ruston, as she picks up her camera once more to examine the impact of our digital age on teens' decision-making in relation to substances such as vaping, drugs, and alcohol.
Synopsis
Screenagers Under The Influence: Addressing Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age, the third feature documentary in the Screenagers trilogy, delves into how the tech revolution has reshaped adolescence and its effects on substance use. The film debunks myths and depicts strategies parents and schools can use to encourage healthy decision-making, support teen mental health, set limits, and create healthy home environments. The film also includes many ways young people are using their wisdom and strength to help each other and themselves through this complicated terrain around substance use.
While most documentaries about substance use focus on severe addiction, Screenagers Under The Influence fills a pressing need for a film that explores more common scenarios. The film is grounded in teens’ current reality of being flooded by images on social media, movies, and TV shows about vaping, drugs, and alcohol.
Like the first two Screenagers films, Screenagers Under The Influence interweaves cutting-edge science with personal stories to create an informative and entertaining film experience for young people and adults alike. Screenagers Under The Influence focuses on practical solutions for keeping our teens safe in a changing world.
To learn more click here.
Are you excited about the start of baseball season and ready to support local youth? Field Day happens on March 22, and many hands make light work. La Center Little League has announced that Spring Ball starts on April 7th and Opening Ceremonies will be help April 12th.
Are you available to help in the Little League Concession Stand? You don't have to have kids playing to help support local youth. LCLL will have a sign up soon. If you have questions please contact president@lacenterliittleleague.com.
Local Author Meet and Greet
Be sure and SAVE THE DATE of March 15th and come join us as the La Center Historical Museum proudly presents our very own Paula Charles, in sharing her THIRD cozy mystery novel AXE ME NO QUESTIONS. It’s full of small-town charm and mentions none other than the Museum, our mascot JACK and Me!!! Please join us from 2-4pm to meet and congratulate Paula on her latest book (available at the Copper Bell Bookshop).
Middle School Alcohol Use Prevention
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) created a toolkit consisting of interactive activities to help parents, caregivers, and teachers introduce and reinforce key messages about peer pressure, resistance skills, and other important topics related to underage drinking. The engaging activities are designed for middle schoolers ages 11 to 13. They can be used at home, in classrooms, or in after-school programs. Content is divided into sections, each section comes with a guide for the adult facilitator, handouts, role-playing exercises, and more.
About Us
- Inspiring our community to be safe, healthy and resilient
- Preventing destructive behavior through open access to education and environmental strategies
- Supporting those in need, sharing ideas, and offering help
A healthy and resilient community for youth and families
Email: lacenterunited@gmail.com
Website: http://lacenterunited.org/
Phone: 3602138385
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lacenterunited