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After getting its start more than 20 years ago, Dream Quest Willow Creek Youth Partnership – a nonprofit organization that offers various youth support programs – is realizing a longtime goal and will soon be constructing a huge community center in Willow Creek. 

Trish Oakes, executive director of Dream Quest, told the Outpost that she and another founding member helped launch the organization in 2001 to provide more activities for kids in the Willow Creek area, which has virtually no places for kids to go to socialize. 

“We saw kids with nothing to do, looking forlorn in front of the gas station,” Oakes said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “And we thought we need more opportunities for kids here.” 

Eventually the organizers found a space to rent – a storefront off Country Club Drive – and Dream Quest has been serving the community there for the last 20 or so years. And the organization has definitely managed to pack a lot into a small space, offering an afterschool program, cooking classes, dance classes, fencing class, theater workshops, event nights and more. Dream Quest also provides opportunities for teens and young adults to obtain their highschool diploma or GED, gain work experience and training through its StepUp program.  

Some kids in front of the current Dream Quest location during a senior lunch event

And the nonprofit offers many of these programs for free. Some classes have a small fee, and Dream Quest offers scholarship opportunities for those who can’t pay full price. “Our policy is no youth turned away for lack of funds,” Oakes said. 

About 10 years ago, the nonprofit was able to expand to the space next door, which now holds the Dream Quest Thrift Store, which Oakes said is a huge asset in Willow Creek. The shop provides locals with a place for affordable pre-used items, and the revenue from the shop helps support Dream Quest’s operations. 

Now, with Dream Quest raising about 80 percent of the funding needed, the nonprofit is ready to break ground on the Community Youth Center – a three-story, 8,100 square foot building – on the vacant lot at 35 Terrace Lane, just across the street from the current location. Once complete, the new facility will feature a youth center, a large multipurpose room with a stage for performances, a big commercial kitchen, multiple classrooms, offices and meeting rooms and a large outdoor space for gardening and recreational activities. 

Oakes said that she’s excited to finally be getting a start on this longtime dream, and is not only looking forward to having a lot more space for Dream Quest’s programs, but also to the benefits it will provide to the Willow Creek area in general. Willow Creek does not have any type of community center, which often serves an important role in a town, providing a public meeting place, an entertainment venue and even a place to offer emergency services during disasters. 

Design showing the center’s floor plan

Having the community center to serve as a shelter during emergencies will be a huge asset to Willow Creek, Oakes said, where wildfires and extreme winter weather have displaced many people from their homes in past years. The community center will be able to provide temporary shelter for those with damaged or inaccessible homes, and will also be equipped with showers, charging stations and an air filtration system for hazardous air conditions during fires. 

And the community center won’t only benefit the community of Willow Creek, but also nearby communities. Since the area is very rural, Oakes said, Dream Quest serves many of Willow Creek’s neighboring areas throughout the Trinity Valley, where there are often even less services and opportunities available. 

“We have kids from Orleans, to the north, to Cedar Flat to the east,” Oakes said. “The geographic area we serve is huge.” 

Dream Quest will be hosting a groundbreaking ceremony for the Community Youth Center on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 11 a.m. Since the nonprofit is still in the process of obtaining the rest of the necessary funding, plus with weather and supply chain issues,  it is difficult for Oakes to say exactly when the center will be fully built, but she said that Dream Quest is hoping for the project to be completed by the summer of 2025. 

“I just want to acknowledge the generosity of the community at large, for helping us get to this point and having faith in our mission and our ability to carry it out,” Oakes said. “Our mission is to serve the youth, but the community center itself will have a great allowance for collaboration, and can help build community strength and resilience.”