PROVO -- Jesica Rigo had at least two children talking to her at once one night, asking about games, books and where they could park their bikes.

She took it all in stride, directing them to pile their bikes up against one wall, assuring one she wasn't leaving just yet and talking to volunteers teaching a health class at the same time.

It's all in a day's work for Rigo, who with another co-worker, Daniel Jensen, started the South Franklin Community Center in January. They work with the AmeriCorps VISTA program, the domestic version of the Peace Corps, and the over-arching goal is to fight poverty. The organizers in Provo are starting with getting a small part of the community, a part that is often affected by poverty, to come together and help each other.

"What we're trying to do ultimately is get people involved, so that way there's more trust in the neighborhood, more unity," Rigo said.

The center, which is housed in the Boulders Apartment building in south Provo, offers English and Spanish classes, tutoring, LDS Institute classes, addiction recovery meetings, book clubs, art classes and much more. Almost all of it is free and open to people who need the services. During the spring, Rigo and Jensen also got a soccer league going in the field in the middle of the Boulders. That's proven to be a hot activity; more than 100 children participate.

"The most well-attended thing by far is our soccer league," Rigo said.

She and coworker Rachel Bennion administer the center now, although volunteers from throughout the community teach the classes, plan activities, tutor, read and play board games. Adults who come in can get help and support that they need, while the children who come in do homework for a half an hour and then can read or play games for another half an hour.

Andrew Church is in an LDS singles ward and was working with Troy Carter, part of the driving force behind Our TEAMS, a local nonprofit aimed at helping disadvantaged children learn math, English, life skills and self-confidence. That involvement led him to the community center, where he comes weekly to help students with homework, play games with them and get to know them.

Besides the actual tutoring help, much of the volunteers' time is spent getting to know the children, and letting them get to know him, Church said. In spending time with other adults, these children realize goals like college and careers are possible for them.

They also participate in service projects occasionally; recently the group made dolls for children in developing countries, Church said, and they ordered pizza after they finished. It was a good opportunity for the children to serve and have a good time. He thought they'd done their good deed and that was it. Later he realized just how deeply the children were internalizing the lessons of service and how much they talked about it at home.

"One of the moms sent the kids back the next week with an extra bag of toys to send with the dolls," he said.

Provo resident Erin Barker has only been volunteering for about a month. She comes in an hour a week and finds herself reading and working with the same young man; the graduate student studying writing for children loves bringing in poetry and writing tongue-twisters and short stories.

"It's just fun to see him get excited about words and stories," she said.

One night this week she helped him with his math homework and then they got started on a book.

"Anthony and I never end up playing games," she said. "We usually end up writing a story."

The center always needs more volunteers and is continuing to add different activities, Rigo said. People interested in volunteering at the center can contact her at (801) 691-5282.

• Heidi Toth can be reached at (801) 344-2556 or htoth@heraldextra.com.