It is a simple vision.

A safe place for teens to hang out and be teens.

A café-style setting with inviting seating and decor.

An activity room. Foosball tables. Perhaps pool tables. And even old-style arcade games.

A place to do homework and maybe get assistance.

And while you’re at it, toss in some free life skill learning led by mentors eager to share their passions.

Perhaps it could be learning to play a guitar.

Karate lessons. Dance lessons. Exercise classes

Hands-on learning on how to repair a bicycle or how to cook.

Or even the basics of how to fish.

Thomas Toy would have liked all of that — especially sharing tips about fishing.

And if he were alive today, the odds are he’d be at the front of the line to not just support such a vision — but eagerly mentor youth that want to learn how to fish.

Thomas was the owner/operator of Big Boy Market for more than 40 years on East Yosemite Avenue where the Grocery Outlet is today.

Toy had a well-earned reputation for being kind generous, hardworking, showing respect, and treating everyone as an equal who worked for him, stepped into his store, or were fortunate to call him family or friend. And yes — he loved fishing.

It is why those that are a working to open a teen community center on the southwest corner of Fremont Avenue and Yosemite avenues hopefully by later this year or early 2024, chose to name it in his honor.

Toy would have been an ideal mentor to fulfill the vision outlined above by more than a dozen teens attending a brainstorming session from Manteca, Sierra, and East Union high schools as well as an eighth grader came up with to help guide those that are now working to open the center.

The name of those working to convert the 8,000-square-foot structure originally built in the 1970s to house the now defunct Manteca News to serve as a community are familiar to many. Bob Raymus. Chuck Critchfield. Tim Welch. Tom Glass. Carol Davis. And many more.

The name of the person selected to help make sure the heart and soul of the teens’ vision comes alive by recruiting volunteers, putting programs in place, and such is Sara Christensen.

She’s the executive director.

Christensen brings 17 years working with youth to Manteca.

After earning an education degree, she invested her energies into programs as varied as the City of Alameda parks and recreation endeavors to most recently the Boys & Girls Club of Carson City in Nevada.

Perhaps just as important is how valuable such community endeavors were to shaping her life when she was growing up in Grant Pass, Oregon as the daughter of a single mom.

“We are looking for community volunteers who want to invest in our youth and their future,” Christensen said.

As such, she encourages people who are interested in helping — whether it is with ideas, indicating they’d be willing  to volunteer or whatever it might be — to fill out the “contact us” form on the bottom of the home page of the Thomas Toy Community Center webpage at thomastoycc.com.

Christensen knows the rewards of working with youth.

It’s not just seeing the proverbial light bulb going on, becoming passionate about a new endeavor, mastering a life skill, or simply being able to be in safe place where they can be teens.

“They have a way of changing your perspective,” Christensen noted.

Coming of age can be fraught with all sorts of challenges.

It is when teens often make decision — for better or worse — that will shape their lives.

And the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns only made the journey from child to adult even more treacherous due to everything from the drastic reduction in social interaction to gaps in learning.

It is against that backdrop the effort is being made to enlist the community to not only provide a safe place for teens to hang out but to help mentor them as well.

“The loss of 2 to 3 years to a high school student is a world of time,” Christensen noted.

It is why the Toy Community Center’s second floor will be dedicated to spaces where they can get mentoring needed to deal with the world they are facing.

As locations go, the center couldn’t be situated any better.

It is in a high-profile location on Manteca’s premier east-west corridor — Yosemite Avenue.

Large numbers of teens are within a mile walking distance. It is literally a block away from  Manteca High.

That said, the center is for teens throughout the entire community.

There is a bus stop just a block away.

And judging by the enthusiastic response the organizers have been getting from teens from all three high schools, there is a high expectation this will be “the” gathering place for teens whether they attend Sierra, Manteca, or East Union.

Plans call for the center to be open Monday through Saturday.

The decision to not put the word “teen” in the name was two-fold.

The faith-based organization wants to be able to use the space when it is not used by teens such as school day mornings for other endeavors aimed at helping single moms and similar efforts.

But it was also to make clear that while it is a place for teens, they will be treated seamlessly as being part of the community

The message to Manteca as a whole is also clear — it is about the community working together. It is about teens being part of the greater community.

“By investing in youth,” Christensen added, “you are investing in the community.”

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com