The Shipman Youth Center, seen here in February, is set to purchase their land from Lake Placid Central School District. (Enterprise photo — Grace McIntyre)

LAKE PLACID — The Shipman Youth Center is one-fifth of the way to its fundraising goal, which will help the organization buy the land the center is built on. There are numerous opportunities in the coming months for the community to chip in.

The youth center provides a variety of programs for youngsters throughout the year, and serves as a safe place for kids to hang out in the gaps between school and extracurricular activities. The center has a close relationship with Lake Placid Central School District, and for many years, rented the land from the district.

The youth center already owns its building, but until recently the land belonged to LPCSD. It recently came to the district’s attention that the school was only able to rent out the property for a maximum of 20 years because of a restriction in state education law. This led the board to authorize the sale of the property in February.

The youth center’s total fundraising goal is $50,000, and they’ve already raised around $10,000, said Michael Durham, president of the Shipman Youth Center board. Their most recent fundraiser was a “Shredfest” in April, which gave people the chance to destroy sensitive documents while contributing to the center.

The next fundraiser on the calendar for the youth center is their Building Roots for a Better Tomorrow Benefit Motorcycle ride, which is scheduled for June 14. The approximately two-hour ride will start at the youth center at 9 a.m. and will end around 12:30 p.m. with a cookout at the James C. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval. Tickets cost $20 per bike, or $10 to attend the cookout only. There will be a 50/50 raffle, and they will also be selling raffle tickets for Dmitry’s Feast of the Peaks and Music Festival.

Other fundraisers are also in the works. They are planning a golf tournament, but still need to decide on a date and location. They are also considering collaborating with Jim Williams, sales manager at North Country Radio, to use Wing Wars as a potential fundraiser, Durham said.

The board has also submitted applications for some grants and intends to explore more options along those lines. There is a place to donate directly to the center on their website, at shipmanyouthcenter.org.

“We got some new board members who have come onboard in the last year that have some great ideas, and are bringing a lot different energy to the board,” Durham said. “So we have some different ideas, different fundraisers that we’re trying to get out.”