The Cellar: Campus Life Serving Downtown Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh's Downtown Campus Life caters to students at three schools in the Downtown area: City High, CAPA and Northside Urban Pathways, as well as the many high school student commuters who come through Downtown. Downtown Campus Life seeks to engage high school aged students through the context of mentoring relationships and community to build positive life assets physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

First Presbyterian Church donates its basement space to the Campus Life program to be used as a café and drop in space for high school students. This space—called The Cellar—first opened in January 2009 and continues to be open after school four to five days a week to provide a safe environment physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually for students to be and become who they are. The Cellar is a safe and friendly place for students to learn leadership skills, to think and talk through important issues about life and faith and to develop informal mentoring relationships with caring adults. Our hope for The Cellar is that it will be a place for students to belong, use for their needs as a creative outlet and be a part of the Downtown community.

After School at The Cellar
The Cellar is open after school from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Students can grab an after-school snack or beverage, play pool or other games, do homework, talk with friends and adults and meet new people.

Campus Life Dinner and Discussion
Dinner and Discussion is open to all students every Thursday. Beginning at 5:30 p.m. with free dinner, adults and students share a meal and discuss specific topics relevant to life. This weekly venue allows students to express themselves, be heard and listen to their peers.

Friday Events at The Cellar
The Cellar is open most Fridays after school or for evening events such as concerts, movie nights or game nights. Campus Life also hosts a Battle of the Bands kick-off event in the fall and a regional Battle of the Bands event in the winter for high school students.

Trips and Events
Campus Life offers trips, conferences and other recreational activities throughout the year as well as daylong activities during days off of school.

Vision for Downtown Campus Life

The vision for Downtown Campus Life is a movement among the Downtown Pittsburgh area, primarily among the 3-5 crowd, especially high school students, toward a sense of purpose, belonging and love of Jesus by loving adults relationships and a safe place to be, extending from Downtown to the neighboring communities across Pittsburgh.
Downtown Campus Life values:

• The transforming Good News of Jesus Christ.
• Diverse, committed adults who actively love Jesus and actively love young people in word and action.
• A safe environment physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually to be and become who you are.
• Inviting students into a community they can belong, to send them out into a community that belongs to them.

About Campus Life and Youth for Christ

It isn’t easy being a teenager these days and it is even harder to raise one! That is why Campus Life has been around for 60 years and why we continue to explore new avenues to help more students. We love young people and want to help them in any way we can. Campus Life is a program for students sponsored by Youth For Christ/USA. We are a not-for-profit, faith-based organization that has been around since 1944. Campus Life is available to students in more than 1,600 cities and works with thousands of young people every week. Campus Life has found that the importance of shared experiences between a student and a caring and supportive adult are indispensable. The purpose of Campus Life is to multiply those shared experiences and in turn build positive assets in a teenager that will benefit them both now and in years to come.
Campus Life has found that the importance of shared experiences between a student and a caring and supportive adult are indispensable. The purpose of Campus Life is to multiply those shared experiences and in turn build positive assets in a teenager that will benefit them both now and in years to come. 

The mission of Youth for Christ:
YFC reaches young people everywhere, working together with the local church and other like-minded partners to raise up lifelong followers of Jesus who lead by their godliness in lifestyle, devotion to the Word of God and prayer, passion for sharing the love of Christ and commitment to social involvement.

Supporting Youth for Christ / Downtown Campus Life

Youth for Christ is neither endowed nor funded by any governmental agency. We are entirely dependent on the voluntary contributions of the people who believe in our purpose and program. Additionally, many area churches stand with us financially as we attempt to reach teens in the Pittsburgh community.  If you are interested in supporting this ministry, visit the Youth for Christ Metro Pittsburgh web site www.yfcmp.org.

If you would like to know more about Campus Life in Downtown Pittsburgh, feel free to contact Belle Battista, the Downtown Campus Life Director at bbattista@yfcmp.org or 412.526.1859. She would love to meet with you or show you The Cellar and answer any questions you may have. You can also check out the Downtown Campus Life website: downtown.campuslife.me