The Carmel Youth Center is forging a new path after a crisis interrupted programming.

Of the more than 200 youth centers that crooner and movie star Bing Crosby – and founder of the original Pebble Beach golf tournament – opened across the country to provide activities for pre-teens and teens, only one remains, the Carmel Youth Center. It was his very first center, launched 75 years ago in 1949 while he was living in Pebble Beach. In 2023, it nearly became the last one to shutter.

In March of last year, an investigator from the California Department of Social Services showed up unannounced following a complaint that the center was providing child care without a license. The investigator told CYC’s leaders they could apply for a license, but it had to close in the meantime.

“We were operating more like a recreation center prior,” says incoming CYC Board President Pam Neiman. The board hired a new executive director, Sherilyn Napoli, with extensive child care and education experience. Napoli guided them toward meeting state requirements­ – they achieved the license in June, offering summer day camps and an afterschool program once the school year began.

“We’re trying to preserve [the center] for the next 75 years,” says Napoli, standing underneath a portrait of Crosby.

Neiman adds: “And reimagine it.”

Neiman and Napoli say CYC’s leadership is intent on taking the nonprofit to new heights as a service to the greater community. With so many parents who travel into the city every weekday to jobs in Carmel, providing programs for their children is a goal. Schoolchildren on holiday breaks and summer vacation need robust programs and the town’s teens need updated activities.

Beyond summer day camps, the center is offering programs during school breaks, plus occasional nights out for parents. It’s programming that the center was known for in previous years. The new goal is to open an early learning program for ages 3-5. The license they applied for covers preschool-aged children as well.

The challenge ahead is finding the funds to fix up the five-level facility built into a hillside behind the Carmel Police Station. It’s a maze, with activity rooms below that became more like storage spaces, but could be turned into inviting spaces to serve each age group, from pre-schoolers to teens. The top level on 4th Avenue, between Junipero and Torres streets, features a spectacular view of Carmel Bay and Point Lobos.

The aging building, with stairs at each level, is in need of updates, particularly to meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“We’re trying to do it in chunks,” Napoli says. Each chunk will take fundraising to bring in enough money to make improvements and add accessibility. The latest plan is to remodel the kitchen into a culinary teaching space. They are hoping to raise enough money through Monterey County Gives! for the kitchen remodel, along with funds for general operating costs. The current goal is $300,000 by the end of the year.