Boys and Girls Club of Albany set to reopen Teen Center

(ALBANY, GA) – After months of waiting and planning, the Boys & Girls Club of Albany is getting set to open up their Teen Center operations again.

CEO, Marvin Laster says that something like this is necessary for an age group that needs all the guidance they can get.

He tells us, “We’ll be opening our clubs up on a limited capacity basis for grades K-8. But then every night, we’ll be offering our teen program, which is a fundamental piece of our operations.”

Teen Center programs have generally focused on the health and overall well being of Albany teenagers.

But its reopening means that they can continue to develop academically in a physical setting.

“I’m more concerned about the psychological, and socializing issues that are going to resonate as a result of this. So we need to have a safe place where they can go to connect with peers as well as our adult staff…,” says Laster.

However, things will look a little different for teens coming to the Jefferson Street center on Wednesday.

Laster says they’ve had to focus on how they can operate according to current state and federal health guidelines.

He explains that, “They cannot get out of their cars until they have and their temperature checked, answer a number of survey questions like ‘have they been exposed?’ ‘are they experiencing any fevers?’ have they had their temperature checked?’ And once they’re in the building, they’ll have to immediately mask up…”

Teen Center services will be offered from 4:30-8:30 P.M. on Monday through Thursday.

For additional information on Teen Center services, you can contact Teen Services Director, Dontravious Simmons at (229) 439-0196 .