(LAWRENCE CO.) – At 3 p.m. each afternoon, the Thornton Teen Center is bustling with activities as the Bedford Middle School students start making their way inside. The Thornton Teen Center is one of five places that Lawrence County youth can go after school.
Bedford Middle School students sign in at Thornton Teen Center
The other locations called Limestone Units are available for those in grades kindergarten through fifth grade. The units are located at Lincoln Elementary School, Mitchell Junior High School, Needmore Elementary, and at Parkview Primary is for those in preschool.
After a long day at school students socialize and work on homework at Thornton Teen Center
They are a variety of activities that go on at the Thornton Teen Center that Grade 6- 12 can come in and receive, homework help, have a daily snack, play Triple Play, several programs that are offered include art, photography, networking, and web development, money management programs, and various other life skills that are taught to help youth in future careers and education.
Amanda Epping, Morgan Disbro, Gaberiel Lewis, Maddox Todd, Jaydon Comptom all sit and enjoy their friendship
The club works with LC STEAM and their robotics programs which is continuing to grow in interest and future plans to develop an area within the club to offer other trades that although, some may not go on to college they can get into other skilled trades and job opportunities.
Interest in robotics continues to grow
The facility is opened from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m. Monday – Friday, with volunteers helping the students with whatever their needs are for the day.
Crosston Grier, Jade Anderson And Karen Lewis take turns playing pool.
“I used to come down after school every day when I was in high school. Now, I come down here and volunteer. One problem is trying to get high school students to utilize the facility as they start the workforce, girlfriends and other activities. But, there is a great opportunity here at the facility.” stated Rusty Sheppard.
Volunteers Always Needed
Like with all volunteer organizations and non-profits the need for more volunteers always exist. They are a variety of ways you can volunteer to the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence County. Each volunteer must complete an application and background check which does not take very long to complete. Board members, volunteers no matter who you are must complete the background check.
Financial Situation should not hold any youth back from being involved in the club activities.
“There is absolutely no reason why a child could not be a member of our club because of financial reasons. Our goal and vision are to provide a safe place for every child to come,” Director Frank Decker said.
The yearly membership fee is $30 and for families in need, we offer various scholarships for various amounts all the way down to a penny, in some extreme hardship cases. The Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence County rely heavily on the community to fill in the gaps of $30 membership fee and the total cost of $510 of actual costs per member. “Grants provide a lot of funding for our programs but we also need help with some of the days to expenditures of our facilities. “Decker added.
Fundraisers for Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence County:
There are five main fundraisers that occur throughout the year. These include The Bill Baker 100 held in April, Duck Derby in late May, Becky Skillman Youth Development, in June, Limestone 5K in July, and Auction in November.
Lawrence County:
Programs and youth participation are growing as these programs and activities are offered all over the county. You can access the information on the club at http://bgclawco.org website, or by calling 812-279-6123.
Thornton Teen Center Schedule at the Teen Center Grades 6-12
- 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. Homework Help Offered
- 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. Daily Snack
- 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. Triple Play Offered
- 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. Programming Activities for the day.
- 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Open Schedule (Upstairs)
- 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Open Gym (Downstairs)
Programming opportunities offered at the Teen Center:
- Monday – Girl Scouts, Networking and Web Development
- Tuesday – Passport to Manhood, Teen Cook
- Wednesday- Art and Photography
- Thursday- Youth of the year, Junior Staff
- Friday- Movie and Board Games
