Teen Central Off To A Great Start!
By Jessica Sutton & Esther Krueger

Teen Central is off to an exciting start this year. The door to the center opened on September 15th for its third year of operation and currently serves 39 seventh and eighth grade students in the Bowling Green community. We currently have 42 mentors that have dedicated at least one two-hour shift per week to the teens of the center. The mentors are all students of Bowling Green State University from all different majors and backgrounds.

Programming Highlights:
Recent events at Teen Central have included a stress clinic lead by BGSU Grad Student Michelle Rubinlicht and a Grand Opening party to celebrate its third year. Students played games, ate food, and participated in a Karaoke contest. Teen Central would like to thank South Side Six for donating food for the Grand Opening party. During October the teens had a spooky Halloween party where they came in costume and played many Halloween themed games. Students are also working on a new, semester long activity titled “The Comic Book Project”. They are creating comic books based on social issues that they have seen in their schools, community, or the world. Helping the students develop the narratives and format of their comics is local artist Phil Macci, creator of the comic “Livestock Productions”, whom you may have seen at the Black Swamp Arts Festival. Additional aid in the Comic Book Project is provided by the Chapman Learning Community under instructor Dr. Charles Coletta.

Teen Serving on the Board:
Teen Central is proud to announce Shawn Layden, a Bowling Green Middle School 7th grader, as the teen representative on the Teen Central Advisory Board. Shawn has been contributing as a member of Teen Council, which is a group of teens who elect to participate, discuss and steer the vision of Teen Central. Shawn’s active participation in Teen Council and the Teen Central Advisory Board is an example of the importance of youth involvement in the planning and decision-making process at BG Teen Central. The success and leadership development of our teens is the motivation for the work and future of Teen Central.

Sponsorship:
Teen Central greatly appreciates the support is has received from the community. If it were not for the community, we would not be able to offer these programs to our students. 

If you are interested in working with Teen Central please contact the Program Coordinator, Jessica Sutton, at BGTeenCentral@bgsu.edu. 

Or if you would like to support Teen Central, please participate in Community Day at Elder Beerman in the Woodland Mall on Saturday November 14, 2009 from 6 am to 9 pm. To participate, purchase a $5 coupon booklet and enjoy the savings within.