Teens Get First Taste of New Center at YMCA

The Madison Area YMCA unveiled its new Teen Center this week with a grand opening schedule coinciding with the Madison Public Schools' spring break.

The program takes over for the Madison Teen Center, which had been run through the borough and hired employees.

The new program is free of charge to all Madison residents in grades 6-12. It is also free to members who live in other municipalities and is available to non-members from surrounding towns for a nominal fee.

"We really wanted to offer the kids a place to go during spring break," Youth and Teen Director Tim Van Woeart said about starting the program this week.

Woeart and a group of about 10 college students, mostly from Fairleigh Dickinson University, make up the staff of the center, which runs Monday through Friday after school during the regular school year. There are extended hours during breaks and holidays, such as this opening week.

Friday nights will provide a special service to 6th-8th grade students in the form of Teen Scene, a special three-hour sessions from 7-10 p.m. to help junior school students start their weekends in a safe, fun environment. There will also be special day trips, mainly during weekends, on average of twice a month. The first will be a lock-in on April 9 where between 20 and 40 junior school students will be able to stay overnight until 8 a.m. on April 10.

"We'll have lots of activities," Van Woeart said. "I'll turn off the lights in the building and they can play Manhunt, we'll have movies and a midnight snack."

Because of Teen Scene and the overall popularity of Friday nights, the end of the week will see the largest group of staff, with between eight and 10 people on hand to help run the center.

So far, Week 1 has brought about 20 students at peak times according to Van Woeart, who has worked with the YMCA for 5 1/2 years. He is excited to have the program and at a place that is within walking distance of the Madison Junior School, where many of the students the center is looking to reach attend classes.

"Our goal is to provide a safe environment for teens to express themselves, be healthy, and active," Van Woeart said. "We want to give them an appropriate social environment and for them to have fun."

On Feb. 22 the Borough Council voted to to terminate the contracts of the part-time director and assistant director of the center the Madison Teen Center. Borough Administrator Ray Codey at the time said that with the cost of personnel, rent and upkeep, a switch to the YMCA would save about $40,000 to the borough for teen services.

The Madison Area YMCA's Teen Center will run in conjunction with the Madison Public Schools' calendar. The program provides use of protected computers with the ability to print for school work, physical activity, games such as ping-pong, and video games, though Van Weoart says that will be for minimal use during the immediate hours after school. More information schedule information can be found at the Madison Area YMCA Web site's Teen Center section.