Teen Center Reinvents New Year’s Eve Tradition For Students

ORLAND PARK, IL — The Bridge Teen Center in Orland Park shared plans to give away a free New Year’s Eve Gift and challenge to local teens, rather than hosting its annual New Year's Eve celebration due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to its website, The Bridge Teen Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, providing free programs during after school and unsupervised hours that help teenagers develop emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually in a safe environment. Since 2010, The Bridge has served more than 10,000 different teens from 128 Chicago Southland and Northwest Indiana communities.

According to the center, distribution will take place outside the center located at, 15555 S. 71st Court, in Orland Park. The event will be held on Tuesday, Dec.29 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and Wednesday, Dec. 30 from 2:00pm to 5:30pm. To participate, advance sign-up is required and can seen here.

For the past 10 years, a New Year’s Eve celebration at center has been a tradition that includes music, games, food and fun for students, according to the center. The organization said it also uses this annual event to encourage and challenge students to grow, give back and set goals as they look to the future.

"Regardless of the COVID-19, it’s our mission to serve local teens - and not even a pandemic will stop us from adapting meaningful traditions like our New Year’s Eve event," said Priscilla Steinmetz, Founder of The Bridge Teen Center. "We are shifting gears so we can creatively celebrate the New Year with our students and challenge them to grow in 2021 and beyond."

This year, Macy’s sponsored the organization's party, which helped bring creative ideas that follow COVID-19 safety guidelines during the celebration, according to the center. In addition to a free gift, the center will issue a two-step challenge to students for the coming year.

The center said as a way to add to the fun, students can send a photo of their completed challenge cards to info@thebridgeteencenter.org to be entered into a drawing to win a $20 Trugurt gift card and/or Bridge gear. Challenge cards will be given to students when they come for pick-up and they will also be available for download on the organization's website beginning Dec. 30 at 5:30 p.m., according to the center.

To get a free gift, students need to have an approved Student Membership Application on file and sign up in advance on the website. Membership is open to students in 7th - 12th grade and is free. Students can apply for the free membership at thebridgeteencenter.org.

The organization said since the middle of November, all in-person student programming has been paused in order to meet recommended COVID-19 safety guidelines. Unwilling to do nothing at all during the pause, the organization passed out over 250 “Bridge at Home” kits and also scheduled several Zoom programs, encouraging students to connect with family members, get crafty, and find some calm amidst the stresses of the pandemic, according to The Bridge.

“Our staff has been working tirelessly the past nine months to adapt to the changes COVID-19 continues to bring to us,” Steinmetz said. “Whatever happens in the future, we will remain committed to serving our students and helping them to develop mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually as best as we can.”

The Bridge said it hopes to open for limited-capacity programs sometime in January, but will continue to monitor advisories regarding safe COVID-19 protocols. For more information, visit www.thebridgeteencenter.org or call 708.532.0500.