The Post’s Path Forward
20 years and counting for The Post
Walk into The Post and you’ll find Goshen teenagers playing a pickup game of basketball, hunched over their latest homework assignments, or chatting over snacks in the café. They represent a diverse range of family structures, school systems, and perspectives.
What matters is that their voices converge here—in Goshen’s old converted post office.
“Our mission is to take those that can’t plug in somewhere else—and everyone else too,” says board member Don Wade as he sits next to The Post’s executive director E-man Monge and board president Sean Behensky. The three have gathered to reflect on the last 20 years—plus where they hope the path will lead next.
Looking Back
Founded in 2000 by Lon and Judy Miller, The Post had a simple premise: provide local teens with a safe place, a healthy community, and the chance to learn about God.
“Teens’ lives might not be changing dramatically, but their trajectory is changing one degree. And that makes a difference down the road,” Monge says.
Over the years, staff and board members have taken programming cues from the kids, offering everything from beauty classes and homework help to live concerts and movie nights. The day-to-day has changed. The mission has not.
Behensky, Monge, and Wade agree that The Post has survived 20 years in part because of matching grants from the Community Foundation. Behensky quickly lists the impact of those grants: staff training in mental health and verbal de-escalation, building security, technology upgrades, and a gym renovation.
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“They say it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a whole community to raise a teen youth center,” says Monge.
The Path Forward
Last year, The Post received an end-of-life gift totaling tens of thousands of dollars. For small nonprofits, large donations are life-giving.
The legacy gift was split two ways: a rainy day fund and an endowment at the Community Foundation. The endowment will ensure the nonprofit is no longer “constantly hand-to-mouth,” says Wade. By fortifying The Post’s financial foundation, the endowment will open new pathways for local teens.
In five or 10 years, teens who spend their afternoons at The Post might be managing local businesses. Monge hopes the recent partnership with Jobs for Life, a national program that builds soft skills and provides job interview preparation, will support the school-to-work pipeline and forge new career paths for the youth who tell him they want better jobs and a better life.
The leaders at The Post do not care which roads lead teens to their door. They simply hold the door open and offer welcome, belonging, and the possibility of a better path ahead.
This story appeared in the 2020 Annual Report.
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