January 27, 2021 

"Not a building teens come to, but a movement they choose to be part of."

This has been our motto at The Lounge (our program for high school students) since this Club opened in 2016. And in that this Club has been mostly virtual since March, this motto seems even more appropriate now. At this point in the pandemic, we know that students (especially teens) are struggling academically and socially. Because of this (and to be honest, many other reasons), we know that our services are more important now than they ever have been before. Our staff was reminded of this earlier today when we received the following note from a new Lounge member-

"the lounge has given me something to focus on and not be so bored with staying home all the time and has given me a chance to socialize with people and given me something to work towards.... I’ve been trying to be more active recently because....it is fun to participate in the competitions and activities...."

Some of the daily activities mentioned above have been more serious (like art projects), and some others have been definitely not serious (like yesterday's WOULD YOU RATHER Question- "Would you rather eat a ketchup sandwich or a sriracha sandwich?")  But in both cases, these activities helped teens feel connected with other teens, which is SO important right now. If you have a teen or if you are a teen who would like to get connected with The Lounge, please let us know!!