In August of 2009 an offer for the Flint Police Activities League (PAL) to move into the Haskell Community Center was presented to the Director, Officer Jesse Carpenter. The offer was presented by the City of Flint Administration with the intent that the PAL organization would administer a three week program named the "15 Days of Fun" at the center. The purpose of the program was to provide struct
ured youth programming during the last three weeks of the summer
Office Carpenter accepted the offer with one main goal in mind, finding a permanent home for the organization in order to provide quality structured programming for the community's youth. This agreement came with some challenges; little time and resources. Haskell had been closed for nearly two years and Officer Carpenter had roughly four days to get the vacant boarded up building in operation. At this time, Officer Carpenter began calling upon family, friends, volunteers and local businesses. The following Monday morning, the Haskell Youth Center opened, serving 75 youths on the first day and the "15 Days of Fun" was indeed a success. Since then, PAL has been in the community partnering with other organizations in order to maintain sustainability within. PAL is currently in its sixth year of programming and plans to continue providing for the Flint community for many years to come.
